


Always and Forever

by VintageLilac



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Heretic, Mikaelson Family - Freeform, Multi, Original Mikaelson Family, Original Mikaelson Sibling, Protective Siblings, Romance, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VintageLilac/pseuds/VintageLilac
Summary: Astrid Mikaelson was a mistake. She was never suppose to be born. Given away at birth only made her want for a family that didn't even know she existed. When she was turned into a vampire marked the day she set out to find her family. Following the original vampires consumed decades, she searched the world, following myths, massacres, and tales spun by survivors. Three hundred years were spent following the shadows, looking for monsters people usually ran away from, until she finally got her wish.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson & Freya Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson & Klaus Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson & Original Female Character(s), Elijah Mikaelson/Katherine Pierce, Freya Mikaelson & Klaus Mikaelson, Freya Mikaelson & Kol Mikaelson, Freya Mikaelson & Original Character(s), Freya Mikaelson & Rebekah Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson & Kol Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson & Original Female Character(s), Klaus Mikaelson & Rebekah Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson & Original Female Character(s), Kol Mikaelson & Rebekah Mikaelson, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Rebekah Mikaelson & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

The castle I found myself standing in front of was quite stunning. The whole place was bathed in sunlight, giving a particularly warm and welcoming feeling to anyone who passed by. I knew better. This was home to Kol Mikaelson, notorious wild child and original vampire.

I'd spent almost 300 hundred years looking for the Mikaelson family. I'd followed them from country to country, every time I narrowly missed them. The only evidence left was the ruins of whichever enemy they'd been running from. Usually they'd be running from Mikael. At some point in time, I'd learned that they split up to make it harder for Mikael to kill them.

The other siblings became nearly untraceable, but Kol, as devious and cunning as his reputation claimed he was, also had an attachment to witches and magic. Somewhere through the great witch vine and a few spells later, I was standing at the home of Kol Mikaelson. I'd spent so long searching and waiting for the moment I would meet one of the infamous original siblings, but now that I was, I didn't know what to do.

That wasn't a thought I had long to ponder on as one of the great doors of the castle opened. Standing before me was a girl, a witch. I could sense it on her. She was quite pretty, long brown hair and a slender face with delicate features.

"Can I help you, dear?" she asked. Her tone was soft and her voice high. It made her seem younger than I thought she was. "What are you doing outside Lord Kol's castle?" she inquired again when I didn't answer her first question. She looked like she was ready to go out, probably to get something from the town nearby.

"My apologies, I'm here to speak with Lord Kol." My chance was now or never. I didn't know if I was ever going to have the courage to do this again. Her eyes widened at the balant request.

"Is he aware you're coming to see him? I haven't heard of any new visitors." This time her tone was stern, but not harsh.

"I need to speak with him, please. I have information I believe he would want to know," I was desperate now as I pleaded with her. Granted I could've compelled her, but I didn't know if she was on vervain and I didn't want to leave anything to chance. This time she grabbed my arm, but gasped and yanked her hand back.

"You're not…" she trailed off as she looked at me in shock. This time she grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside. "Come along, child. I'll take you to Lord Kol,"

She knew what I was. I could sense it when she touched me. After pulling me through a series of hallways and then up a staircase, finally stopping at a door.

"I don't know what you will say to him, but be warned Lord Kol has quite the temper. Watch your tongue, dear," she warned me. Then she scurried down the hall and I watched her small figure disappear around a corner.

I stared at the door in front of me for a long moment. Was this it, was I really going to do this? I sucked in a sharp breath and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," said a deep voice. Two words, two words had made me gone mad in the span of a second. I couldn't do this, I'd been chasing these people for so long. At some point I'd been content with the chase and grew afraid of the possibilities. I was going to turn, I was going to run away. I was already turning around, when suddenly a man was standing in front of me holding onto the tops of my arms. I was afraid. Not because of what he was, but who was.

I took a moment to study his features. He was undeniably a handsome man, an angular face accompanied by a sharp nose. He had dark hair, the same shade as mine.

"Who might you be, love?" He questioned. I swallowed thickly, I wasn't prepared for this. "Answer me!" He snapped. His tone was harsh and demanding.

I sucked in another deep breath, it was now, I had to say it. "I'm Astrid Mikaelson, and I've been searching for you for a very long time Kol."

He immediately released my arms and stumbled back against the wall. What I had said seemed to finally register because I had been up against a wall within a second and his hand crushing my throat. "What kind of lies are you going on about!" He screamed at me.

My fear had worn off. I threw Kol off me and had him against the wall with my hand against his throat. He looked at me in shock. He had every right. It wasn't everyday that a small girl could throw off an original.

"Like I said, I've been looking for you. My name is Astrid Mikaelson, I'm your sister." I responded. I was nervous, I'd almost choked on the words coming out of my mouth. He kicked my legs out from under me and had me pinned to a wall with my arm clutched in his grasps.

"That's a lie! I don't have another sister! Who are you? A spy sent from Mikael to kill me?" He demanded.

"I can prove it, I didn't think you'd believe me. So I can prove it." I gasped out. "Look into my memories, find out the truth." I was begging at this point. I'd been so desperate for a family. I had one, they just didn't know I existed, which hurt more than any wound ever could.

I thought he was going to snap my neck when he abruptly turned me around and he placed his hands on my neck. Instead I felt a presence in my mind, it was Kol. I immediately let him through and thought about my past.

_I was five years old, sitting in an old chair with a woman behind me brushing my hair. She was telling me a story, as she often did before bed._

" _My little Astrid, tonight I'm going to tell you the story of how you came to me," she smiled down at me with kind eyes._

" _Really!" I exclaimed in excitement, "the story of my birth family?" I'd always wanted to know where I came from. Ella wasn't one for secrets and told me I wasn't her birth daughter, but she made sure I knew she loved me all the same._

" _Calm yourself, child. Once upon a time, long ago, I was sick. I thought I was going to die, when a woman came into my home. She was determined and beautiful, I was convinced she was an angel. She told me her name was Esther and that she was going to cure me in return for a favor. I agreed and she told me one day, she was going to return with you, my little Astrid, and that I had to keep you safe and hidden."_

" _Why auntie Ella, why am I secret?"_

" _Because, darling, you are a special baby born with a gift, one that someone might want from you." She had a dark expression on her face, but tapped my nose to see me smile again. "Your birth mama came back to me a few months later with you in her arms and gave you to me. I promised to protect you forever the second she placed you in my arms."_

The current memory faded and then came a new one.

_I was ten years old when I met Ayana. She was visiting our village and stopped by to see auntie Ella. I wasn't met to hear them talking, but I was a curious child and hid outside near a window._

" _You can't keep her forever, Ella. She's Esther's child and the daughter of the Gemini leader. If anyone finds out about her, the Gemini's will come for her, or worse Mikael." Ayana claimed._

" _Esther gave her to me to protect. I will honor that, she's my child now and I won't let anyone take her away."_

" _You're a fool to think you can protect her. Esther should've kept her, and claimed she was Mikael's. What if she comes into her powers? You're on dangerous ground, Ella."_

" _If Mikael found out she wasn't his then she would be treated harshly. We don't have to worry about her powers either," Ella snapped._

" _What do you mean," Ayana truly looked confused. Until it dawned on her. "She's a siphon."_

My last memory came to light. The night of how I became a vampire.

_In this memory I was fifteen years old. I'd just come back from collecting berries and walked into the hut I shared with Ella. What I wasn't expecting was a blonde haired woman sitting at the table talking to Ella._

_Ella walked over to me and grabbed hold of my hands. "Come here, dear, there's someone you should meet," she murmured to me. She then proceeded to pull me over and sit me down in the chair across from the blonde woman._

_I took a moment to study her. She had pale skin, long blonde hair, and sharp eyes._

" _This is Esther, your birth mama," Ella said slowly. I was completely shocked. My birth mother. What did she want? Why was she here?_

_The woman, Esther, took hold of my hands and looked into my eyes. "Hello, Astrid, I've been waiting to meet you for a long time. I'm sure you have many questions, but for now I just want to look at you. My beautiful daughter."_

_Esther had ended up staying for dinner and brought special wine for us to drink. Ultimately I wasn't able to ask any questions. As soon as I had drank the wine I felt white, hot searing pain spread through my stomach and body. I looked down to see a knife sticking out of my stomach and I turned to see Ella behind me, hands shaking and pale._

" _Auntie Ella, why…?" Suddenly my vision started fading, till all I saw was black._

_I woke up with a start and sucked in a sharp breath. I took in my surroundings and all my memories came rushing back to me. Esther, Ella, the knife._

_I looked down and held the area where my wound was, or rather where it should've been. There was a blood stain on my dress but no wound._

_Esther was in front of me within a second and holding my arms again._

" _Esther, what's going on? Ella stabbed me. Why?" I sobbed. I was so confused and disoriented._

" _Hush now, dear. None of this makes sense now, but you need to calm down and drink." Esther said in a stern voice. I looked at the arm in front of me, blood pouring out of the wound. The blood, the smell was intoxicating. I could feel veins coming out under my skin and fangs growing from my gums. The smell was so alluring, it was all I could think about. Blood._

_Then I looked down the arm. It was Ella's. I recoiled and gasped in horror. She was dead. I reached down and clutched her shoulders._

" _Ella, Ella, wake up." I pleaded, tears pouring from my eyes. I looked up at Esther. "What did you do to me? Why did you kill Ella? Why are you doing this to me?" I begged._

_Esther shoved the blood covered arm in my face again. "You have to drink, you have to. You'll die, Astrid." She didn't give me much of a choice as she forced the wrist to my mouth._

_Suddenly the blood was invading all my senses. I could feel the fangs coming out again and unwillingly I fed._

_The power rushed through me, the strength, the magic._

That was the last memory I showed to Kol. He recoiled back in shock.

"These memories you are showing me. How do I know they're real? You could be lying." Kol claimed. Mikaelson's, always so paranoid.

"You're so very paranoid. I can cast a spell, a heritage spell." I said.

"You just showed me memories of you becoming a vampire, now you claim to be a witch. You walked into my home spewing lies and deceit, what makes you think I shouldn't kill you where you stand!" he growled at me.

"I showed you the memories of Ayana, how she said I am a siphon. I was born with no powers of my own, I must absorb it from other supernatural beings. When I was turned, I was given my own power source. My vampire side fuels my powers." I rushed out in one breath. I knew he was running out of patience. I could've fought him off, but I need him to believe me. I needed a family.

"I'm a very old vampire, I've been running with witches since I turned. I've never heard of a siphon before."

"Let me cast the spell, if I'm lying you can kill me." I thought he was going to kill me when he didn't let go, but he ended up pulling me down the hall and into another room. There was a girl, no older than me. She was quiet, but aware that Kol and I just barged into her room.

"What do you want, Lord Kol, I'm busy." She snapped. I liked her, most people wouldn't dare speak to vampires that way.

He yanked me forward and basically threw me down near her.

"This little girl walks into my home spouting lies of being my long lost sister. I want you to cast a heritage spell, Greer." She looked up at me for a long moment before nodding her head.

She pulled out a bowl and a few herbs that I knew about. She worked quickly, crushed them up and put them into the bowl.

"Aright, it's a simple spell. Cut your hands and let your blood spill into the bowl. When I cast the spell the blood will either turn black or set aflame. If the blood sets itself on fire, she's telling the truth." She then proceeded to hand Kol a knife who sliced his hand open and let his blood pour into the bowl before his hand stitched itself back together.

I cut my hand as well and let my blood pour into the bowl. It didn't escape me that Greer and Kol were watching my hand heal itself as well.

Kol and I stood side by side and watched Greer chant the spell over and over. I turned to look at Kol, I didn't know him at all, but I could see that he was nervous. I was too. We were both so focused on Greer's chanting that it shocked us when our blood erupted in flames.

Kol turned to me with a devious smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes. "My, my, you were telling the truth, little witch, welcome to the family."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I've started this story awhile ago and the first couple of chapters are kind of short, but they'll get longer and more in depth soon. Please leave a review about what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Soon after Kol accepted me as his sister, I had learned before he was turned he was a warlock. It was very apparent as it bled into his life as a vampire. The closest he got to magic these days was surrounding himself with powerful witches. I'd also learned he offered lost witches refuge in his castle. He often had a deal with all the witches he encountered, that they would teach him everything they knew and in return they would be provided everything they needed as well as the occasional spell. Kol may have a reputation for being a ruthless man, but he held a soft stop for witches.

I had begged Kol to take me to the rest of our siblings, but he seemed hesitant. He would always assure me that I would eventually when the threat of Mikael was less apparent, but I knew there was something more he wasn't telling me. I'd been waiting almost 300 years, I was pacified for the moment and I could wait longer.

I'd assume it would be weeks, but soon those turned to months, and now it would be almost a year. I was growing impatient with Kol and he knew it. Which is why he'd taken to avoiding me and going on what he called business trips.

As of late though with Kol avoiding me, he ordered the other witches living with us to keep me company. The other witches and servants had been whispering around the castle how Kol had become more kind and soft mannered since I got here. I like to think Kol was just lonely and needed a companion. At least that's what I gathered from the little information I'd pried from Kol.

He was away meeting some other Lord's and that means the other witches and I are free to turn the castle into our playhouse. Being Kol's little sister gave me

some perks, such as ordering around the staff and having control over who was let through the gates. I immediately compelled a group of musicians to come play music for days on end in Kol's absence. The rest of the witches and I were in loose dresses and our hair was left to fly in the wind. We danced through the castle foyer and hallways till we couldn't walk and it seemed there was a never ending supply of witchy drugs and alcohol.

Greer Claire, the one who cast the heritage spell, and I were twirling each other around and the rest of the witches' hands all clasped together dancing circles around us.

"Cross your hands with mine," Greer laughed and grabbed my hands without a response. She began to chant a spell that I knew very well, I jumped in on the second verse and as we kept chanting the leaves on the plants surrounding us exploded off the stems and turned into varying shades of pretty butterflies. This resulted in the lot of us to collapse into giggles on the floor.

There was the sound of the gates opening and closing, which meant Kol had returned home. He wasn't going to ignore me this time.

I made my way through the drunk witches and outside the grand hall just in time for the carriage to pull up.

As Kol made his way out I began to berate him, "Hello, big brother, how nice of you to return home to your long lost sister." I said, while making my way to stand directly in front of him.

"Greetings, baby sister, but please, no need for your antics today," he said. He was smiling nonetheless and pulled me close to kiss my forehead. "I've returned home and with presents for you."

I squealed and threw myself into his arms, being a vampire he caught me easily. "Presents, for me? Is this your way of apologizing for ignoring me. You're going to work a lot harder. I don't forgive easily Kol." I smirked.

"My, my darling you certainly are Rebekah's sister." He remarked and put me back on the floor. The second he walked in, he was greeted by the sight of empty bottles of alcohol and the castle sparked with magical residue. The butterflies Greer and I conjured earlier came to circle the great hall. "I see you and the witches went wild while I was gone."

"Of course we did, you taught me to have fun with my magic Kol. You should've expected this, especially since you have been ignoring your poor sister for days." I pouted.

"Let it go, Astrid. Besides, the clothes and jewels I've bought for you are for the upcoming trip we are going on." He said with a smirk. This mystery trip peaked my interest.

"Trip? Where are we going?" I inquired.

"Well, I'm going to take you to meet the rest of our siblings." He smiled at me. I immediately met with a feeling of excitement. He laughed at my facial expression and watched me run to tell Bianca of the exciting news.

"Greer! Greer!" I yelled. She came stumbling down the foyer, still drunk and laughing.

She met me at the bottom and threw her arms around me. "What is it, my darling, have we got more wine," she slurred with a glazed expression.

"No, Greer, sober up. Kol's taking me to meet the rest of our siblings! I can't wait. Oh, Greer, I wonder what they're like, what if they don't accept me as Kol does?"

She giggled and patted my cheek, "Don't fret, Astrid. They'll love you. You managed to have Kol's ruthless heart wrapped around your finger. They will all adore you as the witches here do."

From there Kol had people come clean the house and inform the household we'd be gone for an indefinite amount of time.

Before I knew it I was in the back of a carriage and Kol was sitting across from me.

"Kol," I whispered. "What if they don't accept me,"

"Nonsense, love, they may be hesitant at first, but we'll prove it like how you did with me. Besides I was probably the hardest one to convince, therefore, the hard part is over." He reassured me.

"But, you barely speak about them. I don't know what they are like. I don't know what to expect. Chasing you all for hundreds of years wasn't easy, the most information I had was rumours," I rambled on. I was nervous, more nervous than I was when I met Kol. Probably because it was only Kol, not all the rest of my siblings at once.

Kol reached over to steady my shaking hand. "Breathe, baby sister, I assure you that no matter the rumours you've heard. The Miklaelson's put family above all else." He said in a soft tone. It was a tone I realized later on was only used on me. Greer had mentioned it one day, saying he had a soft spot for me. "Besides, I will be there to fight for you. If they don't accept you, which I highly doubt will happen, I will take you back to the castle and we can party with the witches."

I nodded back without a thought, I was back in the moment when I met Kol. Nervous, blank, and automatic. I could feel his concerned glance, but I didn't return it. I didn't speak for the rest of the ride, but Kol tried to lighten my mood with crude jokes and promise of new spells.

I looked out the window to see a beautiful castle in front of me. There was a large courtyard brimming with flowers and statues all around. I'd barely registered a thought until I realized Kol was offering me a hand out of the carriage. I gladly accepted it and followed him to the large doors.

Upon walking in we were greeted by three people. Two men who were incredibly handsome with a resemblance to Kol, and standing between them was a stunning blonde woman in a regal looking gown. I hadn't known what to expect, but they all looked seemingly normal, unlike the rumours which followed them.

Kol kept hold of my hand and pushed me slightly behind him, as the two men walked forward to greet him.

"Hello, brother, welcome back to England," said the taller of the two men.

"My Elijah, always one for formalites." He turned to the other man, which I assumed was Niklaus, and greeted him, but his eyes were planted firmly on me.

"You come back to be with your family only to bring a girl with you. Who is she?" To my surprise it wasn't Niklaus who was looking at me asked, but the blonde girl, which I had placed as Rebekah.

Kol sent a devious smile in my direction. I knew what it meant, he was going to wreak havoc. "Her name is Astrid and she's our sister."

The room went silent. I was expecting Kol to tell them in some dramatic way, it wouldn't be him if he didn't, but I wasn't expecting such a blunt statement without warning. I reacted on instinct and turned to smack Kol up side his head.

"You must be joking, Kol. Sister? We don't have another sister." Claimed Rebekah. She narrowed her eyes at me. "I don't know what you're playing at, little girl, but you will not drag my brother down."

I was expecting them not to believe me, but the hostility from a girl I had dreams of meeting was hurting more than I would've liked. Kol stepped between Rebekah and me, blocking me from her view.

"Rebekah, I swear to you, I would not risk my family's safety by bringing a girl I didn't trust here." He snapped at her. She seemed taken aback by his protectiveness over me.

"What proof do you have, Kol. Even if she was our sister like she claims to be, then she would be long dead." Reasoned Elijah.

"Ah, well that's the best part. She's a heretic, half witch, half vampire." Kol smirked.

I wasn't expecting it, but within a second I was pinned against a wall with Klaus' hand wrapped around my neck. I choked slightly and it brought me back to the day I met Kol. What is it with these paranoid Mikaelson's and choking me?

"Klaus! Let her go, she hasn't even said a word yet. She hasn't done anything." Kol pleaded.

"It will do you well to close your mouth, Kol, before I rip out your tongue and stick you back in your coffin. Besides, if she really claims to be this _heretic and our sister_ then she will speak for herself and prove it." He growled down at me.

"I can prove it, let me show my memories," I managed to choke out.

"What's to say you're not fabricating memories to fit your story." Klaus sneered.

"It'll show you what I am and how I became a heretic, then I can cast a heritage spell." Klaus seemed to calculate my answer before being thrown off me.

The resounding noise of Klaus' body hit a wall and Kol was standing in front of me. Klaus was about to grab Kol in realtation, but stopped when he saw Kol place a hand on my cheek. He looked at my neck for injuries, despite the fact that I was a vampire and there wouldn't be any injuries.

"Are you alright, baby sister? I'm sorry, I should've known Klaus was going to act like this," Kol seemed so disappointed in himself, and in Klaus.

"I'm okay, I can handle myself Kol, as well you should remember," I laughed, trying to reassure Kol I was okay, despite the fact that all my insecurities about acceptance had been proved within five minutes. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.

I was well aware that the other three were looking on in interest. I guess the witches back at the castle really meant it when they said Kol never showed an ounce of emotion.

Elijah stepped forward, "it seems as though this girl might be telling the truth if Kol is showing this kind of affection towards her." He looked at Rebekah and Niklaus, it seemed all three were having a silent conversation about what to do. It felt like hours passed by when Elijah turned back towards us. "Alright, we'll allow it, but we will use a witch of our own for the heritage spell."

I scoffed at the last part, all of them were so similar and paranoid. "Alright, that sounds fair. Sounds exactly like Kol when I told him." They looked confused for a moment. "When I told Kol, he demanded one of his witches cast the spell as well."

This all moved fairly quickly and all three siblings immediately came forward to place a hand on me. I showed them the same memories I showed to Kol a year ago, when it was over the men were silent, but Rebekah had stray tears running down her cheeks.

I stepped out of their grasps and closer to Kol who put an around me. He knew how much those memories affected me. This snapped the others back to reality and Klaus stepped away to get a witch. While the other two looked at me and I avoided their looks of pity.

Klaus returned moments later with a witch holding a bowl and necessary ingredients for the spell. She crushed the herbs and promptly had us all bleed into the bowl. She was a no nonsense kind of witch, as she only spoke when necessary and to explain what the result will mean. As soon as my last drop of blood fell into the bowl she started chanting the same spell Greer was a year ago.

Everyone in the room was holding their breath and staring intently at the bowl when it promptly erupted in glorious flames.

"You have your answer, Lord Niklaus, my debt is paid." With that she gathered her things and sped out of our sight.

"Well, Nik, is that enough for you? You've seen her memories, you had your spell. She's proved herself as our sister." Kol demanded.

Before Niklaus could answer I was engulfed in a hug by a mass of blonde hair. I awkwardly patted her back but her grip tightened. She turned to whisper in my ear, "I'm sorry, I don't always mean to be so cruel." She pulled back but held my hands. "I'm very protective of my brothers as you can see."

Elijah walked forward and placed a hand on Rebekah's shoulder, "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Astrid. I also apologize for such an informal meeting. I must ask though, how is it you still possess magic, your memory said you were a siphon?"

"I was born a witch, without any powers of my own. I have to siphon it off other supernatural beings first." I said in a rushed breath. I wasn't sure how to act around them yet.

They both turned to Niklaus, expecting him to say something, but he narrowed his eyes at me and stormed off. Rebekah frowned but turned back to me.

"Don't take it too personally, darling. Nik, isn't too fond of people," Rebekah claimed. I shook my head and smiled at her nonetheless. This is what I wanted. What I dreamed of.

It was a nice day outside and Rebekah demanded we walk around the gardens to get to know each other. Kol whispered to me that she was probably more excited to have a sister than anything.

Before I could respond she sent a glare to Kol and pulled me outside. She hooked her arm through mine and pulled me down a path.

"So, you came with Kol, and he clearly knows you. When did you meet him?" She inquired.

"I found a few witches who were taking refuge at Kol's and eventually found myself at his castle about a year ago." I said casually.

"Wait, he met you a year ago? He met you a year ago and didn't bring you to meet us?" She looked quite offended and upset.

"You know, Kol was always very secretive about you all. He rarely spoke about you when I asked. Was always hesitant when I asked to meet you."

"Hmm, I think I know why Kol didn't want to bring you," she stated as a sudden realization hit her. "He's spent a long time upset over how he thinks we don't care about him. He's always felt like the odd one out since we were kids. I believe he kept you away from us because he wanted you to himself. You were the sibling he always wanted. The sibling he relates to and who relates to him, you both share magic and that's something Nik, Elijah, and I can't understand."

It dawned on me that she was probably right. I heard the servants and witches talk. They always say that Kol was different after I met him. Greer said it was rare to see a genuine smile from him or for Kol to give gifts, like he constantly showered me with.

"I never realized." I whispered.

We talked a little more when I mentioned how Kol had bought me a new wardrobe and she pulled me back inside, excited to see the new gifts.

When we made it inside to see Kol and Elijah talking. Kol stood up and pulled me out of Rebekah's grasp.

"Did you have fun, baby sister? Is it the family reunion you've always dreamed of?" Kol asked. "You can't be upset with me anymore."

"It was nice to meet my siblings," but I narrowed my eyes at him. "I've forgiven you for ignoring me, but I will not stand for the way you blurted it out. You will grovel for my forgiveness, brother,"

Both Rebekah and Elijah looked thoroughly amused as I pouted at Kol.

"Now, don't be that way. I figured you'd be slightly upset, so in addition to the wardrobe I brought you, I have another gift." Kol motioned to one of our guards. The guard came forth and handed Kol a velvet jewelry box. He opened it for me to reveal a diamond necklace on a simple chain. "I had the witches make it for you before we left."

As I inspected it closer, the diamond was glittering when placed on my neck. "It's beautiful, Kol." I turned to smile at him, "you're forgiven,"

"Greer and the other witches turned it into a talisman for you," he told me.

"I have the best idea!" Rebekah exclaimed. "Let's have a ball to welcome, Astrid!"

"As you wish, sister, but I suggest you ask, Niklaus." Elijah warned.

"I have a better idea, why don't we surprise him," Kol suggested.

"Do you think it is wise to irritate Niklaus?" Elijah asked.

"I agree with Kol. Nik was rude to Astrid and he needs to learn a lesson." Rebekah announced.

"I warned you both against this idea, if you face Niklaus' wrath, I will not be held accountable." Elijah said.

"I don't want to cause trouble." I said to both Kol and Rebekah.

"Nonsense, baby sister, you love to party. Lord knows I've come back from numerous trips to see drunk witches scattered all over the castle. Not to mention you all like to experiment with witchy herbs." Kol smirked at me.

"Besides, if it was truly a bad idea, Elijah would try a lot harder to stop us." Rebekah said.

I was once again dragged away by Rebekah to plan a party. She barely let me get a word in and decided on every little detail. Not that I minded. I didn't really like to plan parties. Fun was always spontaneous back when it was just Kol and I.

At some point I left Rebekah to plan what she deemed was going to be the event of the century and wandered. Kol mentioned we'd be staying here and I figured I should know my way around.

I stumbled across a well lit room covered in paintings. They were stunning. A lot of them conveyed dark messages, but all still beautiful. I saw one of a tree, it was bright, but surrounded by darkness. I reached out to touch it when I was thrown back and pushed against a wall, once again with a hand on my throat.

"You're not allowed to be in here, love," Niklaus said menacingly. I knew I couldn't be too upset with him for not accepting me, but threatening me was starting to get on my nerves. I used my magic to throw him back, hard against the wall.

"You may not accept me, but I will not tolerate being threatened," I snapped.

"You think you can just walk into our lives and claim to be our sister. I will not welcome a stranger with open arms, darling." He said while trying to pull himself off the wall. I just pushed back harder.

"I didn't expect you to." I snapped again. "I spent centuries looking for you all. I was always running after people who didn't know I existed. I held no expectations for any of you, because I didn't want to be disappointed. Kol told me that no matter what, you hold family above all else, that's what I came looking for. If I had the choice, I would've wanted to grow up with all of you, but Ella always said Mikael would kill me if he knew I wasn't his blood. She claimed he'd probably kill you too if he ever found out Esther betrayed him twice. Aren't we a pair, forever the eternal bastard children. I didn't tell you my sob story for pity, Niklaus, I told you so you'd realize that I'm not the enemy. Which is how I know you view me."

I'd finally released him from my magical grip and turned to leave, when I felt a hand grip my wrist hard. I tried to pull, but he held on tighter. He eventually forced me to look at him. When I looked into his eyes, I didn't see anger like I assumed, but understanding?

"I won't lie to you, Astrid. I'm not fond of people, especially ones who claim to be my long lost sister. But, I do believe you. I saw the memories, I saw the spell, I'm not a fool." He stated calmly. "I cannot promise you that I will welcome you like my siblings, but I suppose if you show me that I can trust you, then maybe there's hope for us yet."


	3. Chapter 3

France, 1492

"Baby sister, it's time to go! I won't ask again." Kol yelled at me. He was a tad bit angry because Klaus had summoned us to England, Kol wasn't fond of being summoned. Especially by our brother.

"Don't be so bitter, Kol. I'm almost ready." I packed the last of my things and bounced down the stairs.

"Finally, the witch has graced us with her presence." Kol announced to the servants as I came into his view.

I walked forward and tapped his cheek, "I adore you, Kol, but if you continue with the snarky attitude I will bind you to a very small enclosed space." I snapped back. He only grumbled at me and snatched my arm to bring me to the carriage.

The journey was long and tedious, so to keep myself busy I studied a new grimoire Kol gifted to me.

"Why does Nik want us to return to England?" I inquired. Kol never told me, he came home and found Bianca, my friend, and I dancing on tables. He promptly announced we were going to see our siblings with an annoyed expression.

"He claims to have found the doppelganger. I'm sure Nik just wants all his siblings in attendance to prove he will always hold more power than the rest of us." I knew Kol's relationship with Niklaus was the most strained. It seemed centuries of sibling rivalry turned to resentment.

After I'd met the rest of our siblings, Kol and I ended up staying with them for decades. I grew very fond of them. Elijah often said I fit in very well, Rebekah finally had a sister, Nik and I were hybrids, I was Kol's little protege, and as for Elijah, he claims I'm the most rational. Despite the love for chaos I've developed.

We'd finally made it to England near nightfall and I readily jumped out of the carriage. Standing outside were all my siblings, as well as a pretty girl with curly hair. I hugged Rebekah first, then tentatively hugged Elijah, and flung myself into Nik's arms. It became the same way I greeted them every time.

"Hello, baby sister, Kol, we've missed you both greatly." Elijah said, smiling at us.

"Yes, it's quite unfair that Kol gets to whisk you around the world and we barely get to spend time with you," Rebekah pouted.

"Now, don't pout Bekah. It's not my fault I'm her favorite sibling." Kol remarked and sent a smirk her way. She was not amused. I turned to elbow Kol in his side, but smiled at him. We all knew Kol would always and forever be my favorite sibling. He was just bold enough to say it.

I turned to the girl standing a little behind my brothers. She must've been the doppelganger. Despite her being a victim of Nik's I couldn't shake the vibe from her.

"Hello, I'm Astrid. You must be one my brother's new whore's." It may have been harsh, but I didn't particularly care. It seemed Rebekah didn't either as she laughed at my remark. Nik didn't exactly feel the same way and grabbed my arm tightly.

"She's certainly my sister." Rebekah murmured only loud enough for the vampires to hear. "She's a guest of Nik's, Katarina. Don't mind her, little sister. Come along, I have much to tell you and presents to give." She yanked me out Nik's grasp and inside. I could hear Elijah apologise for my behavior and Kol laughing.

As we made our way to Rebekah's room, I pried information about Katarina. "I don't like her. I could sense the waves of despair rolling off her."

"I don't like her either. She may be destined for death, but she's certainly having her fun and playing both Nik and Lijah."

"They're fighting over her?"

"I suspect Nik's just having fun before he sacrifices her, but I think Elijah may have actually fallen." It sounded like a repeated statement she made constantly.

"Enough about her, what have you and Kol been up too. The last I heard you were both in France."

"We still are. He's been searching for a specific witch line and we've heard they reside in Paris. He often leaves me all alone for weeks on his search." I sighed dramatically, only because I could hear Kol and he was nearing the room Bekah and I were in.

"Do shut up, Astrid. You and the witches have everlasting festivities resulting in all my alcohol gone and drugged up witches. Not to mention the stunt you pulled last week! " Kol yelled through the door.

"What did you do this time?" Rebekah asked.

"The usual, the witches and I got way too drunk. Which led to the drug experimentation's with herbs, and as we get drunker and higher inhibitions are lowered. We were playing around with our powers, two spells crossed accidentally and a small explosion may have occurred." I replied innocently.

Kol came barging into the room. "A small explosion, Astrid. It was certainly not a small explosion. Little witch, blew half the west wing out."

Rebekah fell into a pile of laughter, "when did you become the one rep reminding Kol?" she managed to choke out.

"It was an accident, besides I fixed it eventually," I muttered under Kol's glare. "Don't be mad at me, big brother."

I fixed Kol with a pouty face and wide eyes, he eventually relented and smiled. He could never stay mad at me. I may have been almost half a millennium old, but it was times like this that I was reminded I still had the appearance of a mortal fifteen year old girl.

Bekah and I spent the rest of the day catching up and avoiding our brothers. It seemed Nik wasn't too happy that we were mistreating his doppleganger and Elijah was seeking us out to apologize.

Dinner came and we couldn't avoid it any longer. We both walked in, arms linked together and took out seats. Elijah immediately fixed us with his big brother look and Kol was smirking into his blood laced wine. I finally relented under Elijah's gaze and turned to address the girl.

"Katarina, I must apologizes for my crude comment earlier. I'm very protective of my family and I don't always mean to be so crass." I said with a sickly sweet smile.

She glanced up at me and returned the smile. "There's nothing to forgive, Lady Astrid. I'm very glad to make your acquaintance. Your siblings have been so kind to me."

"I'm sure they have been," I said and shared a knowing look with Rebekah.

Dinner was much less eventful than I predicted and eventually everyone parted one by one till I was only left with Kol at the table.

"Do you think it's a good idea for Nik to break his curse?" I asked Kol. Personally I didn't think it was going to be a good idea. He was already power hungry and fueling that wasn't something I was fond of. On the other hand at least his obsession would break and he could find peace.

"He's our brother, Astrid, you know how he is. It doesn't matter whether this is a good idea or not. He'll do what he wants. You shouldn't worry about these things, we'll stand by Nik, no matter how we feel this is family after all." He stood, kissed my forehead, and left to bed. It didn't escape me that a maid was following him into his chambers.

I sighed and made my way to my room. I passed by Elijah's and heard Katarina's voice. I shouldn't have eavesdropped but I was a curious little witch.

"Elijah, will you fight for me?" Katarina whispered.

"My darling, Katarina, at last no matter my feelings for you, Niklaus has already claimed you as his." I could hear the pain in his voice. I knew the hidden message was about her death.

"Fight for me, Elijah. Don't let him win. I see the way you and he act. You stand guard of your brother, but you don't always approve. Fight for me, because I know you care about me," she pleaded.

"I'm sorry Katarina, I made a vow to stand by my brother a long time ago and I will never go back on it. If you are the object of his affection, then I must sacrifice." He stated harshly, although he still held a soft tone for her.

I heard her let out and sob and make a run for the door. They couldn't know I heard and used my enhanced speed to run before she or Elijah saw me. Elijah really loved her, I hear it in his voice. I love Nik, but his obsession has grown too far if he stands in the way of Elijah's happiness. I was at a crossroads. Nik wanted her dead to be free, but Elijah loved her. It wasn't fair to anyone in the situation.

I made a mistake that night. I should've said something. I kept telling myself it wasn't my place to interfere. In the short time Kol and I had been there, Katarina had learned about our supernatural secret. She escaped with another vampire by the name of Trevor. Nik forced me to try and use my magic to find her, but the only thing I learned was that she wasn't a human anymore. She turned herself.

Nik was furious, fled to Bulgaria and slaughtered her entire family to send a message. Elijah, the ever moral brother, went to save Niklaus from himself and made the decision for Kol to take Rebekah and I back to Paris. At least until he returned with a less vengeful Nik.

Despite the unfortunate circumstance I was elated for Bekah to be coming home with us. Kol on the other hand wasn't. Claimed we'd wreak too much havoc and he didn't want Rebekah to bring home a multitude of men. She stabbed him for that comment.

I was excited to show Bekah the kind of life Kol and I lived. Upon reaching home I took Rebekah to meet all the witches staying with us.

"Alright you lot, were home, come meet the newest resident!" I screamed from the foyer. Down came four girls all dressed in long loose gowns, unacceptable attire in this era.

"You're home! I've missed you so!" Came the loud voice of Bianca and she threw herself into my arms.

"I've missed you too, Bianca," I whispered and hugged her back. "This is my sister Rebekah. Rebekah, this Bianca, Kaydance, Eloise, and Della. Their witches."

"It's so nice to finally meet the infamous party witches," Rebekah squealed.

"Everyone's home and we have a new guest, I think we should celebrate tonight!" Exclaimed Eloise. I turned to Kol with a sweet expression silently asking if we could.

He smiled back at me. "May the alcohol run free and the night be adventurous, little sisters."

I turned to Rebekah, "we're going you show you a real celebration, none of that planning nonsense."

A few hours later and the celebration had begun. I'd talked Rebekah into a loose fitting dress and let her hair down. She grumbled about how this wasn't a comfortable appearance, but it would be ideal for tonight.

"Come on Bekah, have some spontaneous fun!" I exclaimed.

"You truly haven't experienced a party without this lot, Bekah." Kol reassured her. Although it wasn't very reassuring as he sent a devious smirk her way.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the music floating through the mansion. The other girls greeted us and thrust drinks into our hands. I turned to grin at Rebekah, this was going to be a wild night.

A while later we were all appropriately drunk and I was twirling through the hallways. I threw my head back laughing with my dress flowing behind me. I ended up running into my sister and she was dancing with one of the servants around the grand hall. I looked around to see Bianca chanting in the corner, I recognized it as the spell to make things levitate. Kaydance, Eloise, and Della had their hands clasped together and were twirling around.

I went to join Bianca and chanted with her. The plants and people in the room began to lift off the floor and I threw in an extra kick to make the petals explode off the flowers. I looked up to see Bekah had ditched her servant to dance in the middle of the hall basking in the falling petals.

Kol had joined us at this point with girls trailing behind him. Probably for entertainment and blood.

"Having fun, baby sister?" Kol nudged me.

"Mhm, how could I not? I'm eternally young, I have powers, and I have my siblings. I'm a very privileged girl." I laughed.

At some point Della had accidentally fallen into Kol's lap and they promptly disappeared. The remaining girls and I stumbled towards my room and I dropped onto my bed. I smiled to myself. It really was a great life. I'd really found what I wanted in life and I didn't need anything else to be happy. Slowly I drifted off to sleep.

That's how the next few days went on, blissfully happy. We'd spend the days busying ourselves with mortal tasks and even went to town for a day. Bekah and I had a bit of a shopping spree.

Kaydance was teaching me how to do a new type of magic when Kol burst into the room.

"Come on, both of you, start packing only the most important items." Kol said urgently.

"Why what's happened? Is everything alright?" I asked Kol.

"One of my spies just informed me that they spotted Mikael nearby, or at least closing in on us. We need to leave, now." I knew this was serious. I had been with Kol alone once when Mikael found us. He slaughtered everyone and set fire to the house. I'd been in shock, there were dead servants and witches littered everywhere. Kol found me standing in the middle of the hallway, flames closing in on us. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the castle through a secret passage, barely missing Mikael.

We stayed in villages for a couple of days at a time before running to a new village and repeating the process, just to make sure he lost our trail.

I ran to my room and immediately boxed the important grimoires and irreplaceable items, they were collected by servants who were going to our new home and taking our things for us.

I made my way to the great hall, Kol, Bekah, and all my friends were there. I hugged all my friends goodbye before grabbing onto Rebekah's waiting hand. We all piled into the carriage, while the remaining witches and servants who wouldn't be coming with us fled the grounds.

"We need to tell Elijah and Nik," Rebekah said.

"We don't know where they are, for all we know Nik could still be on his rampage." Kol told us.

"So we go back to England and wait for Elijah and Nik to come home. It's our only option." I said nervously. My hands were shaking. Mikael didn't know who I was, we all decided it was better that he didn't, he treated Nik badly and sought out to kill him for 500 years. Kol didn't want that for me. He wanted me to be able to escape.

"We can't go back, not yet. I don't want Mikael to have any trail of us. We lay low, go from village to village till we know it's safe and take a boat to England."

"I hate this plan, I don't want to dress like a peasant and not have servants waiting on us." Bekah complained. Kol narrowed his eyes at her.

"I don't like it either Bekah, but I will not risk my neck just because you couldn't handle not having servants,"

"Stop, we don't have the time for bickering. We erase any trail and then find our brothers." I cut in.

We did this for weeks on end. Dropping in for a few days and then off to the next. Kol wanted to keep going for another week or two, but relented when Bekah and I complained.

"Fine," Kol snapped. "We leave tonight."

We packed all our belongings and fled to the docs when the sun went down in order to draw less attention.

I followed a man onto a ship and ambushed him on the lower deck. He choked underneath my tight grip and clawed at my arm.

"You will obey my siblings and I. This ship now belongs to us, you and your crew will take us to England." He repeated the statement back to me and I turned to see Rebekah and Kol doing the same with the rest of the men on the ship.

The next morning I woke up to screaming. Rebekah barged into my room, also clearly irritated that Kol couldn't keep his meals quiet.

"Kol, you bloody wanker, shut him up!" Bekah screamed. Two seconds later it was silent. She let out a sigh and turned to me with a bright smile.

"Hello, sister, lovely greeting this morning." I said and dropped back onto my bed.

"Get up, we're nearing the docs and as much as I hate to say it, I do miss our brothers." She said. Then proceeded to tug on my arms.

"I'm getting up Bekah no need to rip my arm off." She and I got dressed in proper clothing and met up with Kol.

As soon as we reached the doc, Rebekah was running off and I wasn't too far behind her.

"Ah, land, how I've missed you so," Kol said dramatically behind us. We found a road and compelled ourselves a carriage to take us to the castle. It'd been a long journey and I couldn't help but feel quite excited when the castle came into view.

Bekah and I ran out the second we reached the doors and flung them open. It shocked everyone in the foyer and one of the servants dropped a tray. Nik and Elijah came into the foyer upon hearing the noise and saw us.

"You're here, we've been waiting for weeks," Elijah said in a concerned tone. Bekah threw herself into their arms and I wasn't far behind already being engulfed by Nik.

"My, my, such a warm greeting for our little sisters, but none for your brother. I'm ashamed to call you my family." Kol said with a smirk.

"Do shut up, Kol, we don't need the dramatics," Rebekah snarked.

"Where have the three of you been, we've been back from Bulgaria for weeks." Nik asked. The three of us exchanged looks and we all piled into Elijah's office. As soon as we all settled in, Elijah motioned for us to speak.

"We were in France for awhile, then a spy came to tell us Mikael was nearby." I said.

"Our father, he found you? Where is he now?" Nik rushed out. He was getting angry.

"We don't know. We packed up and fled. We stayed in villages for a couple of days and then moved to a new one. After we were sure our trail was lost we took a boat to England and rushed back home." Kol finished.

"What do we do?" Bekah asked.

"What we've always done. We will stay here and then leave when it's time to go." Nik snapped and stormed out of the room. Mikael really put him on edge. Elijah was about to follow him out when I stopped him.

"I'll go." I said promptly and followed Nik out. I found him in his own room.

I tentatively knocked on the door.

"I'm not in the mood for your uplifting words, Elijah." Was the response I got.

"It's not Elijah, it's me. Can I come in?" I said. A second later the door opened and I walked in.

"What do you want, baby sister," it became a nickname they all caught onto. I was a baby sister and Rebekah is little sister. I find it quite sweet our brothers call us that. If not only to subtly hint to everyone that Rebekah and I were the younger sisters of the most powerful men in the world.

"Can't a girl check on her brother," I replied innocently.

"I'm fine, Astrid. I don't need you to come in here and analyze me." He replied in a cold tone.

"I'm not very fond of that tone, Nik, I only came to offer my ear to my second favorite brother, but don't tell Elijah he's third." I joked.

"I'm wounded. I only made second place." He smiled and turned to me with a hand over his nonexistent heart.

"Nik, this resentment and anger you have with Mikael can't last forever." I said. I knew he was going to get mad at me. I didn't care. I didn't want Nik to get so angry over someone who didn't deserve his time. Eventually he was going to have to talk about it. I was just pushing him.

"What right do you have! You don't know Mikael. I hold this hatred and resentment, but it's all he's ever harbored for me! If I could dagger you I would've!" He yelled at me.

"Stop! I hate these dagger threats you throw around to our siblings. You don't deserve to take away years of their lives!" I snapped back. "I'm trying to help you Niklaus! Mikael is a monster who didn't deserve a son like you. We all know this, you know this. Hunt him down, turn him into one of your obsessions, but don't use him to fuel your anger. An eternity of anger for one man isn't a life, Nik."

I was expecting him to yell back at me. He just turned around and placed a hand on my cheek. "I'm very fond of you, Astrid. You're my baby sister, my little kindred heretic. I would do anything for you, as I would anything for any of our siblings. But I will never let go of this anger for Mikael until he's rotting in the depths of hell."


	4. Chapter 4

Spain, 1702

After a few decades of traveling as a family, Kol and I set off again. After centuries together it became very apparent the only reason Kol would take me and run around the world is because of Mikael. Mikael was only truly hunting Nik, so the rest of us were relatively safe, of course we couldn't be sure Mikael wouldn't force us to bring him to Nik if he caught us first. Kol had also refused to let Mikael know of my existence. If he was so willing to kill Nik, because he wasn't his child, then he would kill me too.

I'd spent centuries alone searching for my siblings, so of course we'd come back to see them.

We'd just arrived in Spain and headed straight to Cadiz. In true Mikaelson fashion, our siblings were staying in a large chateau, servants and workers coming and going through the house.

"Come along baby sister, it's time to see the family." Kol sighed. He loved our brothers and sister, but he was just never too fond of the way they acted. Hence why we spent decades away from them.

"Cheer up, Kol. This would be a lonely world without siblings and their antics." I reasoned. He laughed with me and offered me his arm.

We both walked into the chateau, the whole place was white with gold trimmings everywhere. Telltale signs of Rebekah's decorating. Speaking of the blonde, she came running gracefully down the stairs and into my arms.

"Astrid, you're home!" Rebekah shrieked.

"Please, Bekah, I'm not used to your banshee screams yet." Kol commented. She smacked him in retaliation but also engulfed him in a hug. Kol and Bekah made quite the team, she wouldn't ever admit it, but I knew she missed having Kol around to lighten the mood. Nik was always plotting and Lijah didn't do emotions.

"Ah, the prodigal siblings have returned." Nik commented as he walked over to join us.

"Nik! I've missed you!" I giggled and threw myself into his arms. He caught me easily and tightened his grip. None of our siblings were horribly affectionate, but welcome hugs were a must in reunions. He placed me back on the floor and I returned to Kol's side.

"Kol, Astrid, you're home." Elijah said as he walked through the door. He wasn't showing how happy he was to see us, but I knew he liked it better when we were around. Nik was always calmer and Bekah wasn't pining after boys.

"Nik can't we have a ball! That sounds like the perfect way to welcome home Kol and Astrid." Rebekah pleaded. She'd turned on Nik with big eyes and a pouty tone. He glared for a second before we saw his resolve crumble, he sighed deeply.

"Alright, sister, have your ball." He relented. She squealed and kissed his cheek.

"Come, baby sister. We have shopping to do." Bekah said and pulled my arm. All three boys sighed in unison. I turned and flashed them a smile.

"It'll be fun boys." I promised.

"Every time you say, 'it'll be fun' we end up in very compromising positions, Astrid. Forgive me if your reassurance means nothing." Kol said drily. I winked at him and raced Bekah to her room.

We spent the afternoon in her room looking at each other's clothes and trying on jewelry. "So what's happened since we've been gone. Has Nik gotten over his Katerina obsession?"

"Of course not. He is still searching for her, but over the last century or so Eljiah's convinced him to focus on other things." Bekah told me. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, let's go to town!" Bekah and I linked our arms together in search of our brothers to escort us. "Nik, Kol, Elijah!"

"What is it, little sister. The incessant yelling is quite a grating noise." Kol remarked as he walked towards us. She fixed him with a glare.

"I'm starting to wonder why I miss you when you're gone." Bekah retorted.

"Ouch, Beks, you wound me." Kol sighed dramatically. She threw the nearest vase at him, but he caught it before any damage had been done.

"Please escort us into town, big brother." I demanded. Bekah and I always knew our brothers would do anything for us. Although it came with an overabundance of protectiveness. Kol nodded and called for a servant to tell Nik and Elijah to come with us.

Soon the five of us were riding into town. I took notice of all the people who looked on in envy or fear. I suppose as vampires we naturally instilled fear. As the carriage stopped, our brothers got out first and offered a hand to both Bekah and I as we got out. Bekah took me over to different stores and bought anything she wanted on a whim. We'd gotten dresses and jewels, and bought too many pairs of shoes.

Bekah and I had gone back to my room and she dropped herself onto my bed. "Where have you and Kol been since you've left?"

"Everywhere, we went to africa for a while. Then Asia in search of new spells. I took up a bit of an obsession with mythology, so we went to Rome and Greece." I smiled thinking back on all the adventures we've had together.

She had a sad smile gracing her pretty features. "That sounds lovely. To travel the world with no threat looming on every corner."

"You're free to come with us anytime, Beks." I said and took her hand.

"You know I can't leave Nik." She pointed out. I nodded my head. She hasn't left Nik's side for more than a few months. "I love it when you and Kol come home. Our whole family is back together. I think Elijah and Nik secretly love it when Kol's home because he lightens the dark moods that follow them. I like having you home too. It's nice to have my sister around when Nik's threatening to kill my current love."

"I like being here too, I miss you guys all the time when Kol and I are gone." I confessed.

"So stop leaving." Rebekah said. She grabbed my hands and she had a glint in her eyes. "Stay here with Nik, Elijah, and me. When Kol wants to leave again, just don't go. He's not your father, you don't have to go Astrid."

"I can't just leave Kol, Rebekah. You won't leave Nik sides, I won't leave Kol's." I said pointedly. She sighed disappointingly. "I'm sorry, Beks, but I can't."

"I get it, family loyalty and all. Honestly I think it's good that you follow Kol. He thinks we don't care about him as much, it's good he had you to remind him."

Kol and I had been there for a few months now and lately Kol's gotten a bit restless. Over the years he's grown the reputation for being the psychotic killer and I never said much because he's my brother. To be honest I never minded all that much.

Kol was smart, more so than our other siblings. He knew when to leave well enough alone and how to choose between the lesser of two evils. I trusted him and that's all I ever needed.

It was a couple weeks later and Rebekah was helping me get ready for the ball. She tightened my royal blue dress and clasped the jewelry around my neck.

"You look so pretty, Astrid." Rebekah smiled. I placed my hand over hers.

"As do you sister." Together we walked to the staircase waiting to be escorted by our brothers.

Elijah met us first and offered his hand to Rebekah, while Klaus offered his to me. Rebekah and Elijah walked down the stairs and were immediately swarmed by sycophants.

"You look positively radiant, baby sister." Klaus complimented me. I smiled up at him.

"Thank you, you look good too Nik. Almost makes you seem like a gentleman." I laughed. Nik poked my side but didn't retaliate much more.

"Kol asked me to escort you because he's caught himself up in some entertainment." Nik said and nodded his head in the direction of Kol surrounded by girls.

"Poor things, falling for Kol's bad boy persona." I giggled.

I spent most of the night attached to the side of one of my siblings. A few brave souls asked Nik or Elijah if they could accompany Rebekah or I in a dance, but Nik would compel them all to stay away. Rebekah got upset and threw a fit. She left the ball early and retreated to her room.

I didn't mind as much, I found the whole scene quite amusing. If I wanted to dance with any of the people I would with or without Nik's permission. He was rejecting them so I wouldn't have too.

"Why can't Bekah be more like you?" Klaus asked rhetorically. "She needs to learn that falling into bed with the first man who shows her affection isn't good enough for her."

"Don't make fun Nik. She's just looking for love. That's never been a crime." I insisted.

"Maybe it would do you some good to find someone as well."

"Love is a weakness, baby sister. Learn that lesson soon or else it will be the end of you." Nik warned me.

* * *

Kol and I were sitting on the floor in one of the many rooms and we were testing the limit of my siphoning powers.

"Alright here, breathe Astrid, calm your mind and let the magic flow through your blood." Kol murmured as he walked in circles around me.

With siphoning magic we learned recently I could take one type of magic and convert it into another. If my theory proved right I could absorb the magic and reverse it or put it into another object. I was trying to take a hexed and put the curse on another inanimate object.

I muttered the spell underneath my breath, over and over, till I felt the necklace in my hand spark and fall from my palm.

"Did it work?" Kol asked. I picked up the necklace and I could immediately feel the dark magic. I grinned.

"It worked!" I squealed. "Magic transference has a lot of possibilities."

"Children, why are you sitting on the floor?" Elijah questioned. He just walked in after a meeting with our brother.

"Magical lesson." Kol replied. He was still excited about the prospect of a new branch of magic. That was the day I created dark objects.

Surprisingly Elijah did stay with us, he sat a little ways away and observed us. I was in the middle of an incantation when Nik and Rebekah came back yelling at each other.

They both burst into the main room, Elijah, Kol, and I ran to the balcony to watch their argument.

"What's wrong with you Niklaus!" Rebekah screamed, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She marched behind Nik till he turned suddenly and grabbed her neck. His hand was covered in blood and so was his sleeve.

"You'll do well to watch your tone Rebekah." Nik snapped at her. "I did you a favor killing that boy."

"Why won't you ever let me be happy! Are you so miserable in your pathetic, lonely existence that everyone around you has to suffer the same fate?" Rebekah choked out as his hand tightened around her neck.

"Love is a weakness, Rebekah. At some point in your immortal life, you will learn that lesson." Nik hissed. "Did you know the only reason he was getting close to you was because he suspected you were a vampire? Did you? Answer me Rebekah!"

At this point Rebekah was sobbing and fell to the floor when Nik released his grip from her neck. I immediately ran to hold my sister, but Kol grabbed my arm and shook his head.

"I didn't! Is that what you wanted to hear! That I was wrong!" Rebekah screamed back in his face. "I just wanted someone to love me, the way I want to be loved."

"Love isn't going to protect you Rebekah, you made a vow to stick with this family always and forever. I won't watch you throw it away over a _boy."_ Nik said calmly, but he was still beyond angry with her. He left dramatically through one of the other doors. Kol let go of my arm and I ran to Rebekah.

"Come now, Rebekah, let's go darling." I whispered and gathered my sister into my arms. I tucked her into bed and sang her a lullaby till she fell asleep with tears staining her cheeks. Some part of me knew those weren't just for the boy Nik killed. She cried because Nik was disappointed in her and I think that hurt her more than anything.

I had half a mind to go set Nik straight, he has no right to go around dictating her life. I marched out the door but was stopped by Elijah.

"I know what you're about to do sister, I strongly advise you don't." Elijah said. He set me with a look that told me it was more of command than a suggestion.

"Why not Lijah, let her tell off Nik." Kol said as he approached us.

"He's already aggravated as is with Rebekah. He is also very paranoid these days. It wouldn't be smart to put him further on edge." Elijah explained. He was always protecting Nik.

"So we just let him get away with how he treats Rebekah?" I pushed.

"Well, Beks is a bit of a strumpet." Kol commented. Both Elijah and I sent him an exasperated look. I flicked my hand and made Kol slam his head against the wall. "Was that entirely necessary!"

I smiled sweetly at him. "I'm going to find Nik and set him straight."

"Baby sister, please. I'm asking you not too. I may not agree with Niklaus' methods, but in his own way he was protecting her. Let it go." Elijah begged. I saw the desperation behind the honorable facade and relented.

"Alright, fine. This dysfunctional family makes me want to murder people." I muttered under my breath and went back to my room. Kol threw his arm around me and followed.

"I was thinking we might go on a little adventure tonight. There's a witch I've been looking for." Kol insisted. He set me with a wide mock beg.

"Alright, let's go. I am still infuriated with Nik." I agreed.

A few hours later we were standing in the middle of a quaint little town. There were kids running around and the people were singing. I suspected it was the night of a festival. I left Kol to do his search while I went to explore.

I walked into a small tavern filled with drunk men and loud music. I stayed for a while, flirting shamelessly to get free drinks. Sure I could've compelled them, but the game was always more fun. I danced around the tavern listening to the cheers of people around me and basked in the glory.

That was until a familiar mass of brunette hair caught my eye outside. I bid my goodbye and followed the dark figure. She turned down another path to the woods and I followed her till we landed at a small home with no one around. I used my speed to catch her by surprise and turned her around.

"My, my Katerina Petrova." I laughed. She glared at me and struggled to get free, but I was a lot older and stronger than her. She may have had a cold exterior, but she was scared.

"Congratulations Baby Mikaelson, you caught me." She spat. "Going to turn me into Klaus?"

I released her and stepped back. Still close enough to grab her if she tried to run. "You're in luck. Nik has pissed me off today and Elijah won't let me take out my anger on him."

I think she assumed I was going to take my unresolved anger out on her and laughed when her eyes widened slightly. It also didn't escape me when her eyes twitched when I said Elijah's name.

"You're going to kill me so Klaus doesn't get too?" Katherine asked. "Hmm, big brother won't be very happy with you."

"You've got it all wrong, Rina. I'm not going to kill you." I said and looked her up and down. Running for the past few centuries really turned her into a fighter. She was still the same Bulgarian girl, but hardened, meaner. I could respect that.

"If you're not going to kill me, then why am I still here." She made a move to run but I waved my hand and gave her an aneurysm.

"Now Katerina, running is a very stupid idea. Like I said earlier, I'm angry with Nik, but you my darling are how I'm going to get even." I explained.

I lightened up with my spell and she was getting back up to her feet. "I still don't get why letting me live is getting even with Klaus."

"I'm doing it for Elijah too." I whispered. "A couple of centuries ago, I heard the conversation you had with Elijah. You love him, don't you?"

She was still glaring at me, but her exterior had softened. "I don't love anyone, Baby Mikaelson."

"That's alright, you don't have to tell me. I know you do. So I'm going to make you a deal. I'll help you run from Klaus." I offered.

She couldn't mask her surprise. She backed up against the house wall and laughed sarcastically. "You're going to help me run from Klaus? What happened to always and forever. Don't all you Mikaelson's live by that?"

"I'm immortal, darling. Always and forever ties me to my dysfunctional family, we're bound to have a few tiffs." I waved off. "I'm upset with the fact Nik takes so much away from my siblings and myself, I suppose it's time to make him realize what it feels like."

"How are you going to help me run from Klaus?" Katerina asked me, she was more intrigued now.

"Well I'm a witch darling. I can put a spell on something to trace you. I can also spell it to send you a warning anytime Nik is closing in on you." I said. She scoffed.

"No deal, you could just be putting on an act and hand me over to Klaus. How stupid do you think I am?" She snapped.

"That's just it, I don't think you're stupid Katerina. I also already told you, helping you wouldn't be for you. It's revenge on Nik." I snapped back. "I'd also be doing this for Elijah, I know he loved you too. If one day I can get Elijah to leave Nik's side, maybe I could send him to you. He would be happy, experience love."

She softened up at the novelty for a minute, but hardened within a second. "Elijah doesn't love me, if he did, then he would've saved me two hundred years ago."

"Believe it or not Katerina, but Elijah loved you then and I'm sure he loves you now." I insisted. "Will you accept my help or not?"

She stood there contemplating my offer before turning her hardened gaze back to me. "Alright."

I took her daylight bracelet and chanted the incantation over and over. It sparked in my hand and I knew the spell worked. "Here, I threw in an extra kick so the daylight spell will only ever work on you. I'll always know your location, but if it gets warm then that's a warning we're nearby."

The next moment, screams were heard through the town and I ran back to see what happened. If I was right, Kol was wreaking havoc and killing all the residents. "You better run, Katerina."

I heard the distinct sound of her running before I ran back to the town. Sure enough Kol had drained the entire town and there were bodies littered everywhere. I followed the trail of blood to a small wooden building. Elijah was holding Kol and Nik stuck a dagger into her heart.

I felt my dead heart turn to stone and weigh me down. My brain went on autopilot as I ran to reach for Kol's desiccated body. I cast the spell to give both Elijah and Nik aneurysms. I was furious. Nik has no right to dictate how we run our lives, Kol shouldn't have slaughtered the town, but he doesn't have the right to put our siblings into coffins. I was about to reach the dagger in Kol's heart before Elijah came behind me and snapped my neck. My visions turned black and I felt Nik's arms pick me up before I completely died.

I woke up in my own bed and my first sight up Nik sitting across from me.

"Get out." I snapped and turned my head away. Nik came to sit next to me. "Are you daft. Leave Nik, I don't want to talk to you."

"I know you don't approve of my methods, darling." Nik murmured. "If you were anyone else I wouldn't even bother coming here to explain myself!"

"Then leave, I never ask you too." I deadpanned.

"You're testing my patience, Astrid. I know you're upset with me for killing that boy Rebekah likes and for daggering Kol. I do what I do to protect _our_ family." Nik insisted. "Kol slaughtered an entire town because he didn't get to find that witch he wanted. His impulsive behavior will draw Mikael right to us."

I contemplated what he said. I know he was right, and I also know I'm still angry with how he decided to deal with our siblings. I relented and nodded my head.

"I know. You keep saying you do these things for our family and I know that. At some point, you need to realize doing things like this won't stop it from happening again, you're just delaying the inevitable if you don't change your methods." I reasoned.

Nik didn't respond to me, he sighed deeply and rushed out of my room.

I woke up the next morning and everyone was packing, after Kol's little escapade last night, Nik's paranoia overtook him and he decided we were leaving again.

After the house was packed and the coffins were packed, we were on our way to the docs. We compelled ourselves into a ship and I was now leaning against the ship's wheeling with Elijah steering. Before Kol and I came back to Spain, we learned I had control over all the elements, like witches who were born with special gifts. As a siphon I could take any kind of magic and turn it into another.

Nik and Bekah were in the lower deck bickering like usual. I waved my hand over the ocean water and watched it form dolphins that jumped over the ship. Rebekah stopped her argument to laugh and made eye contact with me. She took the moment Nik was distracted to push him backwards as I strategically placed a wall of water behind him.

He spluttered and glared at both me and Rebekah, I smiled innocently back and he just left grumbling about horrible sisters. Elijah even let out a chuckle from above me.

"Elijah?"

He hummed in response and looked up. "What is it, baby sister?"  
"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"New Orleans, I believe."


	5. Chapter 5

New Orleans, Late 1700s

Nik built a kingdom in New Orleans. A place where all witches, wolves, and vampires thrived. It was the supernatural hub of the world. The streets were always always bursting with light and laughter. I loved it here.

After we landed back in America, we set out right for New Orleans. Nik built this city in his image and we'd been here longer than anywhere else. With the world changing so rapidly all vampires have to move around to keep the facade of not aging, but here everyone seemed to be aware of the supernatural and turned a blind eye.

Today was a special day, it was my birthday. Honestly to me, my birthday wasn't a big deal, especially another one without Kol. Although Nik loved birthdays and Rebekah loved any reason for a party. Elijah offered to placate our siblings, but I denied his offer, after all I loved a good party. Kol and I spent centuries being the epitome of carefree happiness.

It was nearing dark and I was getting ready for my birthday party. I could hear the music playing already. The important representatives from each supernatural faction were downstairs, as well as the special few who were invited.

The dress I had picked out was a dark green that matched my hair and was specially bought from Paris. I had maids help me put it on, then I clasped on the pretty necklace Kol got me centuries ago and a bracelet from Elijah.

Rebekah picked that moment to pop her head into my room. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I just finished." I said excitedly and grasped her outreached hand.

"Nik had a special present for you." Rebekah smiled coyly as we walked down the hall. That piqued my interest.

"A present?" I inquired. "What is it?"

Rebekah just smiled and shook her head. "Nik will dagger me if I spoil the surprise."

We made it to the top of the stairs where Elijah and Nik were already waiting. We joined them in the line up, Rebekah next to Elijah and me in between our brothers. I received a kiss on both cheeks from each brother and watched Nik raise his glass.

"Welcome to such a wonderful birthday celebration in honor of our sister, Astrid!" Klaus smirked, his usual expression. "We didn't meet her till later in life, but that does not change that she is a Mikaelson. I wish you the happiest of birthdays, baby sister, and know that we cherish you as part of this family. Always and forever."

I received another kiss on the cheek from Klaus at the end of his speech and clinked my glass to his. "Always and forever."

Elijah offered me a dance and it was the first of many that night. Like every other party, Nik kept away all potential suitors. Although Rebekah did manage to sneak a few in.

"Mind if I cut in?" I said as I tapped on the shoulder of a vampire who was dancing with my sister. He smiled at me and walked away, although I could hear him grumbling about me ruining his chances. I flicked my hand and whispered a small incantation, watching as the vampire's tongue began to swell, leaving him unable to speak.

"Bloody hell, you're just as bad as Nik sometimes." Rebekah said and rolled her eyes. Nonetheless she grabbed my hand and we swayed. We gained a few odd looks, but we ended up glaring at anyone who judged us.

"I resent that." I replied indignantly. "He insulted me and I didn't cause any permanent damage. That is an important distinction."

"Are you enjoying your party?" Rebekah asked. Finally relenting about the morals of torturing people. Although she definitely had her fair share of maiming, including a nasty temper.

"I love it." I said honestly. "It reminds of when Kol and I were in Singapore."

"You miss him a lot, don't you?" Rebekah asked softly. I nodded.

"I suppose I'm used to not being around all our siblings all the time, but he took the edge off Nik and Elijah. I can hear Nik walking the halls at night, sitting in front of our doors. Then Elijah only has the ability to be exasperated with us." I said.

"You're right." Rebekah replied cryptically. "I think it's time Nik gives you your birthday present."

She led me over to the closed double doors where Elijah and Nik were waiting for us.

"Pray tell, what did Nik get me?" I asked Elijah, batting my eyelashes for affect. It was more likely he would tell me if I had to be prepared for Nik's present.

"You know our brother strives for the happiest of you and our sister." Elijah replied, slightly serious, but mostly sardonically.

"Have a little faith, Astrid." Nik said in mock annoyance. He pushed open the double doors to reveal Kol on the other side. I squealed loudly, gaining attention from the other party goers.

"Kol!" I shrieked and jumped into his waiting arms. He caught me easily and his arms circled my waist, considering that he was a lot taller and broader than I was. "I missed you."

"I suppose it's been a long time since we've caused some mischief." Kol laughed. It was nice to be back in his arms, I'd never say it out loud, but Kol was my favorite sibling.

"Welcome to New Orleans, brother."

* * *

New Orleans, Early 1800s

"Ah the elusive Mikaelson family has finally arrived!" The governor announced. He was prone to throw parties and invite us, more as a power play than anything. Even though we paid him to keep quiet, he still feared us for what we are.

Rebekah immediately set off to find her latest love, the governor's son Emil. Elijah had gone off with Celeste, finding a quiet place to be sickeningly sweet. Leaving Nik, Kol, and I to loiter around ourselves.

"Nik, I beg you to let our poor sister have her fun with the governor's son without you trying to interfere or murder him." I warned.

"It'll do you well to remember I don't take orders from anyone, let alone you baby sister." Nik hissed back, a smile still on his face to keep up appearances.

"It's not an order, Nik. It's me asking for you to let Rebekah have a moment of happiness." I said softly and kissed his cheek. He softened up and shook his head, deciding to run off with two girls.

"I do quite enjoy watching you antagonize him." Kol laughed heartily. He escorted me around the room, flirting with girls as we went and eventually leaving me with a drink in my hand.

"A little young to be drinking and alone at a state party don't you think?" Said a voice. I turned around and came face to face with a boy, not much older than I appeared to be. He was quite gorgeous, curly dark brunette hair, hazel eyes, and sharp features. Judging by his clothing he was probably the son of a rich family.

"I'm a lot older than I seem." I said cheekily and downed the rest of my drink. "I think you need to worry more about yourself instead of me."

"How could I leave such a pretty girl alone, where would my manners be?" He retorted with a mock shocked expression.

"Find a different pretty girl to impose them on." I smiled and turned to walk away. He grabbed my waist lightly and spun me around, refusing to break eye contact. He was a witch, I could feel it the second he touched me.

"How about a dance?" He asked. I scoffed.

"You don't take rejection well, do you?" I suspected. He shook his head, a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

"One dance." I relented, he was harmless, and with no siblings around to antagonize, I need a distraction.

Most of the people were drunk, laying around the governor's house or gambling. It wasn't hard to find a small ballroom, music set up in the corner, and light bathing the whole place in a golden glow. I snapped my fingers and a slow, but pretty tune began to play.

He let out a soft chuckle. "I should've known you're a witch."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I scoffed. He wrapped a hand around one of my own and the other around my waist. Instinctively my free hand went to his shoulder.

"Nothing," he winked. I rolled my eyes and let him lead me around the room. "Now that I've got you to grace me with a dance, what about a name?"

"That'll all depend on your dancing skills." I retorted. He shook his head incredulously at me, but laughed nonetheless. "Why don't you tell me your's?"

"Now how is that fair?" He asked.

"It isn't." I said plainly. "But I find playing fair to be quite boring."

"Castor Deveraux." He finally admitted. I knew the name. They were a line of witches who were also a powerful family in the French Quarter. I happened to know his great grandmother, and taught her a few tricks.

"So, what made you want to dance with me?" I inquired.

"What didn't?" He replied. "I happened to be a lucky man who stumbled across a lonely beautiful witch. One with the prettiest eyes I've ever seen."

"Do you say that to every girl?" I laughed. It was sweet, but very cliche. Turns out he didn't get a chance to respond because I heard Rebekah and Elijah shouting Nik's name. My smile immediately turned into a frown. "The dance was lovely and you were very sweet, but I have to go."

He actually looked downcast for a moment, then I kissed his cheek. Which brightened his smile within seconds. I was rushing out the door to try and stop Nik, when he spoke again, "did I at least earn your name?"

I turned around and smirked, "Astrid."

I ran out the door and rushed up the stairs, meeting Kol half way. "What's Nik done now?"

We made it just in time to see Nik throw Emil over the banister and Rebekah collapse into Elijah's arms. Nik simply patted Elijah's shoulder and dropped back onto the couch where two dead girls were waiting.

* * *

I tucked Rebekah into bed later that night and went to my own room. I laid back in bed, thinking about the sweet, cheeky boy I met today. After today's show, I was going to have to pretend I never knew him if I wanted him to keep living. He was a nice kind of change, pure. Something me nor anyone I was surrounded by knew anymore.

I woke up later that night to check on Rebekah, peeking into her room showed that she was still sound asleep with dry tears on her cheeks. I was going back to my room, but I could Elijah and Nik arguing.

"Was killing the boy entirely necessary?" Elijah sighed. Nik poured himself a drink and sat back in one of the couches.

"He wasn't good enough for her." Nik reasoned. That's when I decided to make my entrance and drop onto the couch next to Nik, stealing his whiskey.

"According to you, no one is ever good enough for her." I said and rolled my eyes.

"Ah, so nice of you to join us." Nik said sarcastically. Pinching me to let go of his whiskey.

"Children, please." Elijah said exasperated. "We need to make up for killing the governor's son."

"We'll just pay him more to keep quiet." Nik announced. "Problem solved."

"And you say Kol and I attract unwanted attention." I grumbled. He glared at me and I only smiled back.

"Astrid, please don't antagonize him." Nik smiled smugly at me. "And, Niklaus, she's right."

The look fell from his face and I smiled victoriously. "Here's what's going to happen. We will all attend Emil's funeral in the next week and refrain from creating any more problems that might disturb the peace in the city."

As promised, Rebekah, Kol, Elijah, Nik, and I were at Emil's funeral at the very end of the procession. Elijah had his arms wrapped around Rebekah as she silently wept, and I had my arms latched onto Kol and Nik.

As we kept walking, the sound of a whip could be heard cracking over skin, again and again. We all stopped to see a man on a horse, whipping a child, most likely a slave owned by the governor. Nik looked absolutely livid, he softly retreated his arm from me and walked closer. The next moment we watched the boy get up and throw a stray apple at the man, he raised his arm to lay another whip, but Nik grabbed a rock. Throwing it so hard it passed through the man's skull and he fell dead to the ground.

"What's he going to do?" Kol asked no in particular. We all looked at each wearily as Nik approached the boy.

"What is your name?" Nik demanded. The boy looked up confused, but grateful even for being saved.

"Don't got one." He replied, shaking his head. "Mama wouldn't name me till I turned ten, case the fever took me. Then it took her."

Nik leaned down to meet the boy at eye level. "You're a survivor, and survivors need names. How about Marcellus?"

"Marcellus?" The boy repeated, testing out the name on his tongue.

"It comes from Mars, the God of war. But it means little warrior." Nik explained calmly, then stood up, offering a hand to the boy. The rest of my siblings and I looked among each other at the odd display of gentleness, it was very out of character for Nik.

"Perhaps there is hope for our brother after all." Elijah said genuinely.

We all made it home that day, Rebekah retiring to her room. While the rest of us decided to have dinner.

"We'll send someone out to buy you clothing soon." Nik reassured Marcel. "Astrid please show Marcel to a room?"

I smiled and nodded, offering my hand out to Marcel. "Come along."

"You got a great big house here." He commented, looking around.

"We do." I said and led him to a room near Nik's. "You can have this room."

Marcel slowly walked in, like he was afraid to touch anything. He accidentally walked into a table and winced.

"Let me help you." I demanded and motioned for him to take off his shirt and sit on the bed. He blushed slightly, but did as I asked. I placed my hand over his wounds, barely touching his skin and whispered an incantation. I watched as his skin healed itself and stopped bleeding. Granted I could've given him my blood, but I didn't want to scare him, so I picked the lesser of two evils.

"How did you do that?" He asked shocked, "it doesn't hurt anymore."

"I'll let Nik explain it to you, don't worry about it right now." I promised.

* * *

"Astrid, will you please go and buy all the necessities for Marcellus?" Elijah asked me politely over breakfast the next morning. "Niklaus and I have some things to attend too with the other faction."

"Oh no, that's alright." Marcel protested. "You've already done so much for me."

"Nonsense." Nik retorted. "Astrid will go out today and have you dressed to be a Mikaelson."

"It'll give me an excuse to go shopping for myself as well." I smiled and put out my hand for Nik to give me money.

"My lovely baby sister." Nik said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "My, my, where did you learn the art of extortion?"

"Ah, that's all me, Nik." Kol said proudly and fell into his chair, feet over the side and a girl trailing behind him, offering him her wrist.

Marcel looked slightly uncomfortable, but we'd explained the supernatural to him already, we gave him the option to leave and he didn't want to.

"I'll go now then." I announced, getting up to leave.

"Sister, if you would please refrain from getting into trouble, that would be greatly appreciated." Elijah warned. He knew the governor was still upset with us, although he would never speak out because Nik would murder him.

"Whatever you say." I said absentmindedly. I walked out into the busy streets where people were drunk and happy. Making my way through the crowds to a shop.

I compelled someone to go out and pick things for Marcel while I looked around for myself and Rebekah. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't spend my brother's money spoiling myself and my sister?

After getting clothing among other things for Marcel, I compelled someone to take it all back to the compound so I could get some herbs for spells and such.

"Why am I not surprised to see you alone?" Came a very familiar voice. I turned around to see Castor Deveraux leaning against a wall with a cocky smirk.

"Haven't we been over this?" I retorted and began to pour some herbs into a bag. I could feel him move closer to me.

"I've got a question for you." He stated and was now standing next to me. I hummed back in response.

"If you're a french quarter witch, then why aren't you a part of the coven?" He asked nonchalantly and reached over my head to bring down a jar I was reaching for.

That was a tricky question. All of my siblings had agreed long ago that I couldn't be widely known for a number of reasons. The most prominent one being Mikael, another would be that I'm heretic, and I feel like it's all part of some over protective family clause.

"That's a secret, darling." I finally settled with. If he was intrigued by mystery, might as well play on it. Although if he keeps digging that could be an issue.

"You're really going to make me work for this, aren't you?" He said coyly. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to pay the woman at the counter. "How about I take you to meet the witches then?"

I was intrigued by this, no one really knew what I looked like anymore, the last time I had any real interaction with the French Quarter witches was over a century and a half ago. I missed being around magic as well, I suppose this would be counted as getting into trouble though and that's directly disobeying Elijah. Airing on the side of caution I shook my head.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I answered. He leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"I'm going to win you over one day." He promised in a soft tone. "One day you'll let me in and we'll stop playing on this facade."

Then he was gone. I shook my head free and was about to leave with my purchases when the lady handed me a charm. "I'm sorry I didn't buy this."

"That's alright, sugar. I'm giving it to you." She said and pressed it into my hand. "That was one sweet boy who's just trying to win your heart. Maybe this charm will help you open up."

I thanked her and left the store, the charm still in my palm. I took the time to examine it, it was small, circular, and had a small gem in the middle. It was a nice gesture, so I placed it in my small hand bag and made my way back to the compound. Thinking about Castor's lemony sharp sent and smooth voice the whole way home.


	6. Chapter 6

"Will you do it again?" Marcel asked me excitedly. I was doing some research in some new grimoires when I caught Marcel spying on me from the doorway. I invited him in and showed him the classic floating feather trick. He really enjoyed it and I'd done it at least twice now.

"Let's try something else." I said mischievously. "Come on."

We ran out of the room to the main courtyard where the fountain was, Elijah and Celeste were cuddle up on one of the couches with a book, Kol was drinking from the wrist of some girl, Rebekah was also there sipping on tea, and Nik was also reading a book, probably war strategies.

"What're we doing?" Marcel asked me. I smiled coyly and shook my head, I laid down on the floor, motion for Marcel to do the same. I concentrated and whispered in latin over and over, watching as the water from the fountain slowly began to rise and separate into droplets.

It rose higher and higher, spreading everywhere, catching the sunlight and creating a pretty sight. The rest of my siblings looked around, even smiling happily at the sight.

Marcel stood up and tentatively touched one of the water droplets, feeling it splatter on his hand, and let out a sweet childlike laugh. Then he proceeded to run through the water getting drenched.

I got up too, running around, completely soaking my hair and dress. Kol being the brother he was, caught me mid run and spun me around, hearing me laugh. Celeste grabbed hold of Elijah and forced him to dance with her in the water that I had enchanted to rain on us. Rebekah never one to be left out, danced with Marcel, both shouting that Nik must join us. I snapped my fingers for affect and music began to ring throughout the compound as well. In nearly eight hundred years, we've never had a family moment as sweet as this one.

* * *

Nik and Kol had just left the compound, Elijah trailing to ensure they didn't cause more trouble. Leaving Marcel, Rebekah, and me alone. Soon enough Rebekah had taken it upon herself to teach Marcel to fence and I didn't want to be a part of that.

I left the compound in search of some kind of entertainment, naturally I ended up in crossing paths with Castor Deveraux. Because suddenly he has a talent for catching me alone. I had been walking down the street, in search of new clothes or playing tricks on the locals when he suddenly appeared at my side.

"How is that I always find you alone?" He said coyly as he fell into step beside me.

"I think you're becoming quite the stalker." I responded and tried to walk faster, but I didn't inherit the Mikaelson gene of being tall so he just widened his stride to catch up.

"Or I'm just a lucky man who constantly crosses paths with a pretty girl." He retorted.

"Stalker." I smiled back.

"Well a stalker and a mystery." He muttered. "Don't we make quite the pair."

"Mystery?" I asked. He smiled back at me and winked.

"Well, you're a witch in the French Quarter without a coven, you always happen to be alone in interesting places, and I only know your first name is Astrid." Castor said and counted off his fingers. "Quite the enigma you've created."

"We'll there's not much you need to know about me." I said.

"Except that I want too." He replied. I stopped and narrowed my eyes at him. In almost eight hundred years, he's the only person who ever pursued me so persistently. "You could start with a last name?"

"My last name is possibly the only thing you wouldn't want to know." I replied honestly. Everyone knew the Mikaelson name, it made the cower in fear.

"Give it a shot." He insisted and forced me to sit on a bench, dropping unceremoniously beside me. To anyone who passed by it was just two young people who happened to be chatting, but I was a heretic and he was a witch, who would soon be a very dead witch if my brothers ever saw us together.

I contemplated my options, I could keep the mystery going and let him chase me for a while longer or I could tell him my name and let him run away. At least he'd be alive.

"Why don't you tell me something about yourself?" I deflected. "Always stalking me and wanting to know things, but I don't know anything about you."

"Right you are, Kitten." He laughed. I raised my eyebrows at the sudden nickname.

"You're calling me Kitten now?" I scoffed. He only winked back in response.

"Well, you're very set against meeting the rest of the witches, so how about I sneak you into the cemetery and show you my playhouse?" Castor suggested. I thought about it. It was intriguing and I hadn't been to the Deveraux crypt in a long time.

"Sounds like a ploy to lure me to my death." I remarked. He grabbed my arm and looped it around his.

"Now, Kitten, I'm sure you could hold your own in a fight." Castor said cockily. "Let's go."

Before I knew it, he was dragging me to the cemetery without giving me time to process. I was eight hundred years old, it didn't escape me that this felt oddly like a trap, but at the same time I found myself trusting this persistent boy.

Lucky for me, I'd been invited in centuries ago so I wouldn't have to explain why I'm a vampire and a witch. We ducked behind crypts and finally landed next to one with Deveraux planted right across the top. He shoved the door open and pulled me inside. Just like the rest of New Orleans, it was dark, but inviting. The walls were lined with shelves containing herbs among other ingredients, as well as hundreds of grimoires. There was also a couch pushed against one wall with a table set up near it. It was so similar, but so different than I remember.

"Does every family have one of these?" I asked. He fiddled with some of the other trinkets and shook his head.

"No, not every family." He said. "Some of these were built a long time ago by our ancestors.

Of course, I knew that, It was Kol's idea to build them centuries ago. I spent a lot of time here.

"How is luring me into a potentially creepy room going to help me get to know you?" I questioned and ran my fingers across some of the jars.

"It's a place for us to talk." He reasoned. "I get the feeling you're not comfortable talking in public."

He was pretty dead on, I was still technically trying to keep my existence a secret.

"You're really living up to that stalker position." I winked and hopped onto a work table.

"Or I'm observant." He pointed out and scanned the bookshelf, pulling out a thick dusty old one, flipping through it and then put it back. He got a sudden epiphany and snapped his fingers, music started to fill the small room, the same song I chose when he'd asked me to dance the first time.

He held out a hand to me and I smiled softly, accepting it. "Guess we never did finish that dance, hmm?"

"Guess we never did." I agreed, Castor picked me up by the waist and set me back on my feet, spinning me around.

"Is this gonna keep happening?" I pondered.

"What?" He asked.

"You keep finding me and we have cliche moments together before I disappear again." I said softly and he spun me around and dipped me backwards.

"I suppose that's up to you now, Kitten." Castor responded. "Something tells me you're a guarded person, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to let me in." Then he leaned his forehead on mine and cupped my cheeks with a boyish smile. "We can keep it a secret if you'd like."

* * *

"An entire tenement building. Forty-six bodies drained!" Elijah snapped, looking forever exasperated and leaning on the dresser next to him. Kol and Nik sat in front of him, neither looking particularly bothered as they played chess.

"Nonsense, it was at least sixty." Kol smirked and then pointed at Nik. "Ah, they neglected to check the attic. Why do people always run for the attic, I mean it makes no sense."

"It's difficult enough to keep our presence in the city a secret without the two of you doing absolutely everything in your power to draw attention to us." Elijah said with barely contained rage.

"Oh, come on Elijah." I smiled sweetly. "Kol and Nik wreak havoc everywhere we've lived. Besides, New Orleans is crawling with the supernatural, things like this aren't entirely uncommon here."

Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up slowly. "I will not have you all going awry in this city causing trouble."

"I'm surprised you have the time to concern yourself with us, given the hours you spend doting on Marcel." Nik snipped. I shook my head, of course, he was jealous. He only did irrational things with Kol when he was angry or jealous.

"Is that what all this is about?" Elijah asked. "You envy my bond with Marcellus. Niklaus, you brought that child into this home. He's no longer safe here, I cannot allow him to remain."

"You would punish the boy because of Kol's antics." Nik demanded and pointed directly at Kol. "I just assumed put him in a box."

"You choose that little whelp over your own family." Kol snapped, growing angry at Nik's words.

"That little whelp is our family." Nik defended. "Marcellus stays."

"You all need to calm down." I finally spoke, getting up to stand between my brothers.

"No, you two," Elijah started and pointed at Kol and Nik, "need to stop finding inventive ways to draw attention to us. Might I remind you that killing masses of people will only put a target on Marcellus' back and it will draw Mikael to us. If he finds us, he will kill you Niklaus, and Astrid if he gets the chance."

I fixed my brothers with a look. "Don't start with us, darling."

"I'm not going too." I started, "but Elijah's right."

"You always say you won't lecture us and then we have to hear it." Nik commented and moved another chess piece.

"Don't be like that Nik." I hissed. "But, you and Kol should lay low for a while. The last thing we want is for Mikael to come find us and tear down the kingdom."

"Yes, fine, baby sister." Kol agreed, then got up to kiss my forehead. "Don't fret, Darling. The antics shall be put to rest."

I nodded happily and skipped out the room, then giggled when I heard Nik say, "you coddle her, Kol. She's eight hundred years old, not fifteen as she appears."

"Like you don't coddle Rebekah the same." Kol retorted.

"Rebekah's got a nasty temper." Nik pointed out and then I heard a glass clink followed by laughter.

* * *

I let myself into the Deveraux crypt and dropped onto the couch, pulling out some of the books to read off the shelves. It had been almost five months since Castor's proposition and I had found myself hiding away with him in this little crypt more often than not.

He would tell me stories about the witches and their rituals, the traditions specific to New Orleans witches, and anything else I wanted to know. In return I told him all about myself, never getting close to the truth about my family though. I wouldn't subject him to that.

"Hello, Kitten." Castor greeted as soon as he walked in and pecked my cheek.

"Hi." I smiled back sweetly, then I got up and hopped into the counter in front of him. "I want to show you something today."

"What is it?" He asked, intrigued. He leaned on the counter next to me and fiddled with a loose thread on my dress.

"My brother and I spent some time out near the red sea learning about this magic called kemiya." I explained. "I'm going to teach you."

He looked excited and spun me around. "My, my, Kitten, you're a glorious witch."

"Of course I am." I smirked and pecked him on the lips. I explained to him how the magic would work, then pulled out a piece of rope and a paragon diamond I snatched.

"What's the diamond for?" He asked and eyed it carefully.

"To channel power." I answered and held out my hand for him to take. "Kemiya is all about connection, feel it, feed off it. Then the rope will turn into a new element."

He grabbed hold of the other end of the rope with one hand and my hand in the other one. We whispered the incantation over and over, watching as a small spark of fire lit up the rope, burning it till it touched our fingers and we dropped it. A distinct metal sound clanged on the floor and I picked it up.

"Incredible." He murmured in disbelief and pulled me closer. I smiled and snapped my fingers, waiting for a sweet tune to start playing. He spun me around the room like we so often did.

We danced all the time, sometimes it was slow and sweet, sometimes it was fast and crazy, but it was always spontaneous. He was such a nice change away from my family and it was going to kill me when I had to let him go one day.

* * *

"Rebekah?" I called as soon as I walked into the compound. None of our brothers were home and now was the perfect time for me to talk with my sister.

"Upstairs." She called back and peeked her head outside her room. "Do you need something?"

"Kind of." I answered and vamped my way into her room and closed her door.

"What's wrong?" She asked, slightly amused. Good know my panic state concerns her so much.

I licked my lips and twisted my hands. "Well, I met a boy."

She shrieked so loud I thought my ear drums would burst, then she grabbed me and yanked me hard onto the bed. "Who is he? What's his name? What does he look like?"

"Slow down, Bekah." I laughed. "His name is Castor Deveraux, he is a witch, and he's gorgeous."

"Never in eight hundred years have you ever fallen for anyone." Rebekah sighed dreamily. "How did you meet?"

I told her everything, from when he approached me at the governor's house, found me at the herb shop, and how we hid away in the Deveraux playhouse. She shrieked and laughed at all the things I said. Sometimes it was wonderful to have a sister like Rebekah, even if she had a nasty temper and an affinity to fall for the wrong kind of boys.

"I haven't told anyone else, Bekah." I warned. "Not even Kol. So you are sworn to secrecy. I don't want Nik to kill him."

She promised but looked worried. "You can hide it as much as you want, but he'll find out, Astrid."

I laid back dramatically on the bed and sighed. "I pray he doesn't."

She patted my arm sympathetically, thinking about all her past loves that Nik had murdered in cold blood.

"He won't care if he's good for you." Rebekah said bitterly. "Nik will kill him for even touching you. I'm willing to bet that Kol will go after him too considering how close you guys are."

"They don't get a say." I added then pinched the bridge of my nose. "I adore our brothers, but they take over protectiveness too far."

Rebekah agreed with me and we spent the rest of the afternoon nit picking Nik's overbearing tendencies, Elijah's ironic moral high ground, and Kol's psychotic tendencies over tea, laughing and poking fun.

Little did we know Marcel had been listening in to our conversation and would start the beginning of a very dark period in New Orleans.

* * *

Nik had gone completely insane. He'd been killing dozens of people, dragging Kol into his antics. They'd been shedding blood all over New Orleans and Elijah wasn't happy.

He wouldn't give a particular reason for any of it, no rhyme or reason for why he was risking exposure. He would hold duels out in the fields, killing men without a second thought. Go on a rampage and slaughter dozens with the flick of his wrist simply because he wanted too.

"Rebekah?" I called my older sister who was fencing with Marcel. She asked for a pause and looked up. "What's going on with Nik and Kol?"

"I'm not sure." Rebekah shrugged. "You know how they are, probably trying to have a little fun and make Elijah angry, always trying to prove he's the alpha or something."

"Klaus is angry?" Marel questioned softly, taking his mask off as well.

"Probably not." Rebekah assured the younger boy. "Maybe a little more insane as of late, but he's not angry."

"He's up to something." I said. "I can feel it. Has he mentioned anything at all this week?"

"Actually." Marcel started. "He mentioned something to me the other day."

Both girls turned to look at him with wide eyes. "What is it?" Rebekah asked.

"He said something about love being a weakness." Marcel murmured trying to think back on the conversation he thought was odd at the time.

"He always tells us that." Rebekah sighed sadly. "That's not new."

"I think he only mentioned it after I told him about…" Marcel trailed off, racking his mind for details the way only a child could. "What his name was, Carter?"

I felt all the air leave my body and panic, fear, guilt even, replace every inch. "Marcel, please tell you didn't tell Nik about Castor." I begged.

"Marcel, answer us." Rebekah demanded. "Did you tell Nik about him?"

"I'm sorry." He said frantically. "I didn't think it was a secret."

* * *

I ran out of the house, pushing past people on the streets, tripping over my skirt to get to the cemetery. I pushed passed the gates and didn't care if people were looking at me as I called Castor's name. My undead heart was beating so far out of my chest and the sound was ringing in my ears.

"Castor!" I screamed, finally reaching the playhouse. I pushed open the doors but he wasn't there either. I ran back out, looking for any sign of dark hair when someone yanked me back.

"I'm right here, Kitten." Castor smiled questioningly. "What's going on?'

"We need to go." I muttered frantically. "Right now, we need to leave."

He placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "What's going on?"

"My brother is Niklaus Mikaelson." I answered. "He's going to kill you, we need to go. Right now!"

"Kitten, have you lost it?" He asked sweetly. "The Mikaelson's are all vampires."

"I don't have the time for this, we need to go." I snapped and dragged him towards the back way out of the cemetery, hoping I could get Castor out without being spotted.

"Now where do you think you're going, baby sister?" I heard Nik ask from behind me. I turned around and looked at him, pushing Castor behind me.

"Nik, please." I begged helplessly. "Don't kill him."

"Now why would I allow him to live?" Nik asked me sarcastically. "I told you a long time ago that love is a weakness. You should've listened."

"Then I'll stay away." I cried. "He doesn't have to die, Nik."

"Unfortunately, even if that were true, that wouldn't be very fair to Bekah would it? I have murdered all her suitors. It would hardly encourage sibling bonding if allowed that boy of yours to live."

"Nik." I pleaded. I didn't want to use my powers against him, but I would if I had too. I lifted my hand to cast a spell, but out of nowhere a pair of shackles were placed on my wrist and before I could siphon the magic away Nik was in front of my face and snapped my neck.

* * *

I woke up in the cemetery, still in the same place. I was disoriented for a moment until my memories started flooding back to me. Castor.

I looked around and spotted him a little ways away from me, unharmed but weak looking. "Castor?'

"Kitten." He choked out, spitting up blood.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I cried, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"It's alright right, Kitten." He answered. "Now I know why you didn't want me to know about your family."

"Forget them." I whispered and cradled his head. "What did they do to you?'

"Poison first, then a hex." He answered and touched the puncture wounds on his neck.

"Blood bastard." I hissed. The hex would ensure I couldn't turn him and the poison would kill him regardless.

"It's alright." He said softly and kissed the inside of my wrist.

"I'll bring you back." I promised. "We can consecrate your bones and I'll bring you back."

He smiled sweetly at me and I cried even harder into his shirt. "I have all the faith in the world. Save me a dance, Kitten."

I sat for hours, he died in my arms and I cried over his body till the sun came up again that morning. Eventually I left when I heard his family coming for the body. I hid behind a crypt and watched them take him before I finally said my goodbyes.

* * *

"Niklaus!" I shouted the second I walked into the compound. The air was pulsing with my magic, the fountain was overflowing and the fireplace was roaring.

He had the audacity to come down the stairs with a cocky smile. "Sister, you've returned."

"You had no right!" I screamed. He flashed in front of me and grabbed my shoulders.

"I have every right as you're brother to murder anyone who touches you." He said forcefully.

I forced him back with my powers and he crashed into a wall, pieces breaking off in every direction. The sound drew all of our siblings out and they were standing in various places watching the scene unfold.

"You're a narcissistic, conceited, selfish, man who can't love." I snapped and slashed at his chest, blood pouring from his wound before slowly stitching back together. "You won't let me, or Bekah, or Elijah be happy because you aren't."

"Elijah, stop them, please, it's my fault." Marcel begged, tugging on Elijah's arm.

"I think it's time Niklaus learns his lesson." Elijah answered, not in particular to Marcel, but so the rest of his siblings could hear him. Celeste was dead and at Nik's hands. It was time he truly learned what effect it had on their family bond.

"Astrid, I do what I do to ensure this family stays together and safe." He argued angrily.

"Committing massacres doesn't protect us." I retorted. "Daggering our siblings because of something _you_ deemed wrong, isn't always right."

"It's been eight hundred years and we're still the most powerful creatures in the world." Nik pointed out. "My methods are quite effective."

I walked closer to his face, his body still stuck to the wall. "Has it ever occurred to you that we protect you from yourself?"

He looked taken aback for a split second before his expression returned to a hard and cold look. "I do what I do for this family. I protect this family. You don't have to believe that, but I do."

I shook my head angrily and licked my lips. "You've gone too far, Nik."

* * *

I figured I was about halfway across the world before my siblings would realize I wasn't there. Nik pushed me too far and I snapped. I couldn't let him control my life for eternity. We were vampires and siblings, I knew someday I'd go back, maybe in a century, but today I needed to disappear.

I walked into this beautiful vineyard in the countryside, I knew this could potentially be a bad idea, but it's where I found myself going.

I knocked on the thick wooden doors when it opened to reveal the one and only Katerina Petrova.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Katherine asked, accessing me up and down.

"Relax, my brother's still back in New Orleans." I said and pushed past her into the house.

"What do you want, baby Mikaelson." Katherine asked, her hands placed firmly on her hips.


	7. Chapter 7

2010, Mystic Falls

Mystic Falls was home to the newest Petrova Doppelganger, one that I knew Nik wanted to get his hands on. Which marked the location as one that Katherine and I would be going to next. Nik would be coming for her soon, I was just going to get her first, surprise my big brother and take a little revenge. Grudges were a long standing family trait among the Mikaelson's, one I inherited like the rest of my siblings.

I ended up spending a lot longer with Katherine than I intended too. I figured at some point one of my siblings would come looking for me or I'd go back, but I found myself becoming quite attached to her. She was dark, manipulative, not all that different from a Mikaelson. Katherine and I were still traveling the world, running circles around Nik. In all honesty, Katherine wasn't such a bad friend when I'd realized she was more or less scorned by fate. I hated her as a human, but vampirism was made for some people, people like Katherine.

As soon as we made it into the small town, it was just as we expected, uneventful and quaint. We bought a nice mansion, just on the outside of town, close enough to the doppelganger, but far enough to stay hidden. The perfect place to plot the war we were bound to win. It was all white, two stories, and represented modern art perfectly. Katherine and I hung a large hand painted portrait of ourselves from the early 1900's in the foyer.

Katherine and I were huddled in the dining room, blood pouring from compelled humans. It'd been a couple weeks since we'd been here and the entire time was spent doing recon about the newest doppelganger. "So what's the plan for our grand entrance?"

Katherine turned her head and smirked in her cat-like way. "I'm thinking I'll go pay a little visit to our lovely Salvatore brothers, meet the family, and even stop by to see uncle John."

I nodded approvingly and picked at my chipping nail polish, "I would love to see Damon again, use my magic and play some of my old tricks?"

"Sounds perfect." Katherine said and wiped away the blood dripping off the side of her lip. "There's just one more thing to take care of then, turning the little blond for the sacrifice."

"I can do that." I offered. "I have a feeling he might be the one going to the hospital because of his infatuation with Elena."

"See you soon." Katherine smirked and kissed her palm, and instead of blowing it to me like a normal person, she pressed it to my ass like a sticker. I laughed lightly and grabbed my sweater, bouncing out the door to my car. It was time to pay long awaited revenge on Damon Salvatore.

I drove myself to the hospital and parked my car in the shadows, it was a flashy car and one of those in a small town is pretty noticeable. I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned against my steering wheel, it'd been a calm couple of decades, but I had a feeling this was going to start a war. Sighing, I got out of my car and walked into the hospital.

"Hello, can I help you?" The woman at the receptionist desk asked me as soon as I walked into the opening of the hospital.

I leaned sweetly over the desk and looked her in the eye, compelling her easily. "Where's Caroline Forbes' room?"

She told in a monotone voice, eyes glossed over and face blank. "Room 306."

"Thank you." I said simply and made my way through the hospital, having the appearance of a fifteen year old girl worked to my advantage because no one stopped me or looked at me curiously.

I spotted the room easily and saw a blond woman in a police uniform hovering over an unconscious Caroline, probably her mother. The woman brushed Caroline's curls away from her face and kissed her forehead lightly. She whispered something, but it seemed like an intimate moment to listen in one. I stood off to the side and waited for the woman to leave before sliding into the room.

She looked angelic, blond hair, pale skin, and pretty delicate features. I almost felt about making her the sacrifice, but I was a thousand year old heretic with little remorse for things like this anymore.

I bit into my finger, barely wincing when the blood started to pour into my mouth and raised it to Caroline's lips, making sure she swallowed enough. The effect was instant, her heart rate started going up, her blood pressure was stabling, and the color was returning to her skin. I dropped into the chair near her bed, crossing my legs lazily and pulling my dark hair into a bun.

It wasn't long before Damon Salvatore walked into the room with Elena following closely behind him, just like I'd anticipated. I observed them, Damon still had the same dark hair, bad boy aura, and piercing blue eyes darkened by vampirism. The girl was a spitting image of Katherine, doe brown eyes and all. "Hello, Damon, Elena."

"Astrid." He whispered and pushed the doppelganger behind him. Damon and I had a complicated past, one solely based on revenge. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Surprise." I smiled and stood up.

"Damon, who is she?" Elena asked boldly from behind him. He ignored her and turned to face me with a hardened gaze.

"What're you doing here?" He questioned darkly. I walked over and patted his cheek, then pushed him harshly against the wall by his neck.

"Is your memory that short, Damon?" I snapped. "Do you really think I don't remember what you did to me?"

"You deserved it." He hissed, trying to rip at my hand around her throat, but she was strong. "I see the bitch herself turned you. What are you? Her new lackey?"

"Trust me, Darling." I whispered. "I'm much worse than one of Katherine's play things."

I whispered an incantation in Latin, over and over till I knew it'd taken effect before releasing my hold on Damon's neck.

"What're you doing to him?" Elena said, horrified, finally having gotten over her initial shock over the interaction.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it." I said and winked in her direction. Once I heard the blond behind me start to stir, I took my exit out of the hospital.

* * *

Damon sighed darkly and poured himself a drink, bringing it to his lips as Stefan paced behind him. Elena was near Stefan as well, wringing her hands together. The three of them were congregated in Elena's house, trying to lay out all their problems.

"I should let you know now, baby bro, but Katherine's not our only problem." Damon said and rubbed his temples. Stefan whirled around and looked confused, his forehead wrinkling up.

"What're you talking about?" Stefan prodded, looking between Elena and Damon.

"There was another girl, she cast a spell on Damon." Elena blurted out, ignoring Damon's blank but warning expression.

"So, Katherine has a witch working for her?" Stefan asked, not sounding too surprised about the new fact.

"Not just any witch." Damon corrected, flexing his fingers which had become increasingly stiff since leaving the hospital. "Astrid."

"She's alive?" Stefan whispered, he looked at his brother and shook his head. Then leaning over the table, ignoring Elena's confused expression. "But Damon, there's no way."

"That's the second time I've heard her name tonight." Elena commented. "Who is she exactly?"

Damon clicked his tongue and downed the rest of his drink. "She's Katherine's sister."

Elena's mouth fell open and she slumped in her chair. "Katherine's sister? But how's that possible?"

"She's not blood related to Katherine." Stefan corrected. "Back in 1864, Katherine didn't come alone. She brought Emily Bennett with her, but she also came with Astrid, who was a witch Katherine happened to pick up along the way. She told our father they were sisters as a part of their cover."

"So you're saying Katherine adopted a sister?" Elena asked, confused. "I don't understand why she would do that, and if she was a witch, how could she be a witch and a vampire now?" Elena asked wearily, thinking back to how easily the small girl threw Damon up against a wall.

"She's a vampire?" Stefan stammered out, looking at Damon.

"She's definitely something." Damon confirmed, remembering how unbelievably strong her grip had been around his neck. "Also, that's not exactly our worst problem right now." Damon added, pouring himself a new drink.

"What else could we possibly have to worry about?" Elena said exasperatedly.

"Back in 1864, Astrid used a spell on people who'd betrayed her or Katherine. I've seen her use it on people." Damon started, looking nervous, it put an unsettling feeling in Stefan's stomach.

"What does it do?' Elena asked worriedly.

"It basically works like a poison, it starts on your hands killing all the blood flow, the skin turns black, and once it reaches your heart. You're dead." Stefan responded, putting the pieces together. "She cast it on you, didn't she?"

Damon held up his right hand where the skin at his fingertips were black and the rest of his was already losing color.

"Oh, my God." Elena whispered. "How do we stop it?"

"You can't." Damon answered. "She's the only one who knows the reversal spell."

"So get her to reverse it." Elena argued.

"It's not that simple." Stefan said. "If she's going to lift the spell, then she wants something in return."

"Well what is it?" Elena demanded, tired of the two brothers being cryptic.

"It could be an object." Damon said. "A grimoire, she was always looking for rare ones. Probably something impossible to get."

"Or revenge." Stefan interrupted, then turned pointedly to look at Damon. His expression was one of worry, but no one could deny the dark and unforgiving look hidden just beneath the surface. "You know what you did to her, Damon."

* * *

I walked around the Lockwood mansion, dressed in black jeans and nice black top, something I stole from Katherine's closet. She'd gone out to plot and see what her next move would be, or whatever she did in her psychopathic head. I honestly didn't need to follow her here, but I heard the Bennett witch was around here somewhere and I wanted to meet her.

I wandered around the house until I felt a presence behind me, following at a distance, but nonetheless there. I knew exactly who it was. "Nice to see you, Stefan. I never pegged you as a stalker."

"What're you doing here, Astrid?" Stefan demanded, I swerved around and smiled sweetly.

"I don't think you'd understand." I responded and hooked my arm through his tightly, forcing him to walk with me. "Remember when we used to take walks around the old plantation house? You subtly ask me about Katherine and Damon pining after her in secret?"

"How are you alive?" Stefan asked, ignoring me. I internally laughed at his forever brooding expression.

"You wouldn't understand." I said. "Lots of complicated witch business."

"Speaking of which, Damon told me you cast a particularly nasty spell on him." Stefan added, his eyebrow creased and I could tell he wanted to ask me more than just that. "Lift it."

"You know as well as I do that, that isn't how this works." I responded in a condescending tone. "I want something, you give it to me, and then I lift the spell."

"Even if I do comply, how do I know you won't double cross us and let Damon die." Stefan pointed out.

"You give me what I want and I'll lift the spell, you have my word." I answered simply, "you know I've never gone back on my word."

Stefan sighed and rubbed his temple. "What do you want then?"

"Two things, one is that little blond in the hospital, I'm going to turn her and I don't any of you looking for her after I do." I stated and shrugged.

Stefan wrenched his arm away from me and shook his head. "Absolutely not, you aren't taking an innocent girl!"

"I have much bigger plans for her Stefan, don't worry." I said, which did nothing to help his angry expression. "Besides, if you don't comply, I'll let Damon die, no one knows the reversal spell except for me. Not even your little Bennett witch can undo it."

"What do you want with Caroline?" Stefan demanded. "What does she have to do with your sick plans?"

"Nothing you need to be aware of." I answered. "The second thing I want isn't coming into play yet, so I have a counter offer for now. I'm going to slow the spell on Damon until it does and let you know when I want it. A motivation of sorts."

"What happened to you?" Stefan whispered.

I hardened my gaze. "Don't mistake the sweet appearance, darling, I turned down the cynical path long before I ever met you."

* * *

I walked around the outside of the house and waited around the corner when Katherine stopped in front of me. "Why hello Katheirne, hit on any old men lately? But then again, you're a lot older, so I think that makes you the cradle robber."

She glared at me and cocked a hip. "Don't do the patronizing thing with me. It's not cute."

"Whatever." I said and flipped my dark hair. "I made the deal with Stefan, not sure if he's accepted it yet. I was going to find him and Damon now. Meet me back at the house?"

"Perfect." Katherine said and used her vampire speed to leave before I could get another wood in.

I walked through the large Lockwood property, finally spotting Damon and Stefan a long ways away, seeming arguing after the Doppelganger walked away. As I got closer I heard Damon speaking.

"I kissed Elena" He said and mockingly held his fists. Stefan shook his head and pointed at him.

"Because you feel something for her." Stefan pointed out.

"My, my, your brother's girl?" I interrupted. "Walking towards them, I wouldn't expect anything less of you Damon."

"The wicked witch, finally returned." Damon mocked, unconsciously hiding his black hand. "What do you want?"

"That looks nasty." I commented. "Although I could fix that, if you comply with my deal." I said, looking pointedly at Stefan.

"What deal?" Damon asked, looking between us.

"She wants Caroline." Stefan said. Damon looked exasperated.

"She wants Barbie, fine take her." Damon snapped.

"Damon!" Stefan hissed and smacked his arm. "We are not bargaining Caroline."

"Why not?" Damon snapped back. "She's not that important."

"I'm getting restless over here boys." I said and picked at my nails. "That's not all though, since Stefan hasn't filled you in I will. There's something else that I want, but that's more complicated. Here's what I'm proposing, I'll take the blond now, slow the spell down significantly until the second part of our deal is sealed. Only then will I completely lift the spell."

"We aren't bargaining Caroline." Stefan reiterated.

"Then Damon dies." I said simply and turned my back but called over my shoulder. "Either way, I'll take the girl, get what I want, and Damon will die."

"We have to agree to her terms." Damon hissed at his brother, looking at this worsening condition.

"How do you think Elena's going to feel after finding out we traded Caroline!" Stefan snapped. "This isn't the answer."

"What other choice do we have?" Damon retorted. "I'll die by tomorrow morning if we don't."

"Damon." Stefan hesitated.

"Tick tock, darling, I don't have all day, and neither does Damon." I smiled coldly.

Stefan rubbed his hand over his face and sat down. "Why do you want Caroline?"

I shrugged. "Honestly it doesn't have to be her, but she and I have something in common. Not to mention it's a direct hit at your little doppelganger."

"Astrid." Stefan pleaded.

"Deal or no deal? Are you really going to let Damon die? Or leave it in the hands of an untrained novice Bennett witch?" I taunted. "By the time she figures out how to reverse the spell, Damon would've been dead for at least a hundred years. Make a choice Stefan."

* * *

I lounged back on the pearl white couch Katherine and I had bought when we moved into the house. She was currently gone, seeing Damon. Stefan was probably with the doppelganger, wracked with guilt after agreeing to my deal.

Everything was falling into place after Katherine and I had meticulously planned it all. Just a few more moves and we were going to win.

Not long after I poured myself a drink, Kathrine came walking through the door. "You're back early."

Katherine shrugged. "Damon ruined it. I see they took the deal."

"Of course they would." I commented. "Stefan would do anything for Damon."

"Great." Katherine said and poured herself a drink. "Now I have a question. Why do you want the blond girl?"

"Well." I started. "We've been studying Elena's life for a while, I've taken notice of Caroline. She's not so different than you, me, or even Rebekah when we were human. I just think she needs a little nudge in the right direction."

"Bullshit." Katherine laughed. "I refuse to believe you're going through the effort of turning a new vampire because you think she could be a better person."

"True." I agreed. "Damon did a very bad thing to her, I'm just going to help her get a little revenge."

"Worse than what he did to you?" Katherine asked darkly. I didn't answer and she didn't ask again.

"How should we do this?" I asked, looking at Caroline's sleeping form. Katherine shrugged beside me.

"We could just smother her." Katherine suggested, motioning to the pillows.

I glared at her. "I meant, should we explain it to her and ask if she wants to be turned."

"I'm sorry, since when did you have a heart?" Katherine asked, looking at me weirdly. "What did Damon do to her that's making you act like this?"

"Nothing you need to know." I responded. "I'll do it, you can go back home."

"Astrid…" Katherine started.

"Go." I said lightly. I nudged her and she disappeared.

I walked into the hospital room, brushing a blond curl away from her face. She woke up at my touch.

"What the hell? Who are you?" She gasped, sleep still evident in her voice.

"Hi Caroline." I said sweetly. "My name is Astrid."

"What're you doing in my room, how do you know my name?" Caroline demanded, starting to get nervous. She sat up and backed up against the bed.

I walked around and sat in the chair next to her bed while she eyed me warily . "You don't have to be scared of me. I'm here to help you."

"What are you talking about?" Caroline demanded.

"Do you believe in the supernatural, Carolina?" I asked, tapping the armrest and looking raised my perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Supernatural?" Caroline asked, "like fairy tales?"

"Not exactly, more like witches, werewolves, vampires." I corrected her.

"Things like that don't exist. Are you some crazy patient from the psych ward?" Caroline bit back.

"Feisty." I laughed, then leaned forward and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Ah Carolina, how would you like to be faster, stronger, ageless, _fearless_?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Caroline whispered.

"Would you accept it if I offered it to you?" I asked, looking at the spark in her blue eyes.

"What's the catch?" Caroline asked, crossing her arms and looking me in the eye.

"Smart, everything comes with a price. It's a good thing you learn that now." I commented. "I turn you into a vampire."

Caroline crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Definitely a psych patient."

"You know, I usually wouldn't ask anybody like this, give them the choice. I'm asking you Caroline, because I'm very old, a lot older than you'd think. In my whole existence, I've never cared for human life, only seen how it could be improved." I explained. "You would make a very good vampire Carolina, and I would teach you how to be one. All you have to do is accept my offer."

She looked as if she was really contemplating my words, thinking about what they meant, like she was starting to believe them. "Alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I know I usually don't add an authors note to the end of my stories, but recently I've been wanting to start writing this story in a third person perspective since I've gotten to the point that's more lined up with the TVD series. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys think. Whether I should keep it in Astrid's perspective, switch to third person, or a combination of both like I did in this chapter? Also, a big shout out to all the reviews and support I've gotten on this story! I love you guys and feel free to pm me or leave a review about where you might like to see this story go.


	8. Chapter 8

Caroline stirred awake, a numbness overcoming her whole body. Slowly, it felt like her senses were coming back one by one. She sat up, rubbing the side of her head, trying to remember what happened before she fell asleep.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Carolina.” Astrid said, smiling sweetly. Caroline snapped her head to the side, looking at the small girl sitting in the chair beside her bed and slowly the memories flooded her mind. Drinking Astrid’s blood, something she’d done before even realizing what it meant.

“What...what happened?” Caroline murmured. She studied the shorter girl, doe eyes, pouty lips, but keenly sharp eyes. Although she had a young appearance, her dark leather jacket and white skin tight dress beneath gave off a different aura.

“I gave you a choice to be better and you took it.” Astrid said, coming to sit at the side of Caroline’s bed, letting her white sneakers fall to the floor after kicking them off. “I turned you into a vampire.”

“You killed me.” Caroline snapped, finally remembering when Astrid grabbed her neck and snapped it quickly. Astrid waved her off and crossed her legs like they were at a sleepover and not sitting in a small hospital bed.

“All part of the process.” Astrid shrugged, Caroline scoffed. Astrid then pulled out a blood bag from her purse that was hanging on the end of the bed, waving it towards Caroline. Caroline’s eyes followed the bag, mezmorized. “One sip and your life changes forever.”

Caroline didn’t hesitate to snatch the bag and let the blood flow onto her lips, staining her teeth and dripping down her chin. Her eyes turned dark and the familiar vampiric veins grew from beneath them as blood poured into her body. She was consumed by the euphoria and pure power surging through her. Once the blood bag was gone, Caroline looked horrified by what she’d done, tossing the empty bag to the floor like it burned her.

Astrid immediately moved beside her and rubbed her back. “Calm down, Caroline.”

“How can you tell me to calm down! I just drank blood!” Caroline said hysterically.

“You’re not ashamed because you drank blood, you’re ashamed because you liked it.” Astrid said softly, remembering exactly how she felt when she had her first taste of the red liquid. Caroline looked at her and then back at her hands. “I wouldn’t have changed you if I didn’t think you could handle this. You have my word Carolina, I won’t leave you.”

* * *

Damon poured blood into a glass cup, turning around when he heard Stefan’s footsteps entering the room. “Care for one?”

“No, thank you.” Stefan denied quickly, eyeing the blood bag. “I’m not hungry. Just ate.”

“Aren’t you worried that one day, all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back?” Damon asked sarcastically, turning to face his brother. Stefan smiled exasperatedly. “I mean, surely they talk.”

“I’m just happy that’s a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner.” Stefan retorted.

“I like this.” Damon commented, coming to stand behind a chair and leaning over it. “You walking on eggshells around me because you think I’m gonna explode. It’s very suspenseful. Is Elena worried, too? I bet I’m your every conversation.”

“Have you heard from Katherine or Astrid?” Stefan asked, ignoring Damon’s taunts.

“I think the Lockwood’s have a family secret, because the Gilbert device affected them, vervain didn’t. So they’re not vampires.” Damon responded, looking contemplative. “They’re something else.”

“Is this your new obsession?” Stefan asked, looking as Damon quizzically.

“Oh, you’d rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant in our town. Fine. I’ll drop it.” Damon said, looking Stefan directly in his eyes.

“Astrid already is an unknown element.” Stefan reminded him. “We’ve never heard of vampire-witch hybrids before. Besides, we haven’t seen the last of Katherine, you do know that, right?”

“So we’ll figure it out, we already know what they want.” Damon shrugged, sipping on his blood.

“We know they want Caroline. Which we also need to tell Elena about, and find a way to get her back.” Stefan retorted, guilt simmering beneath his skin for bargaining Elena’s best friend. “We also don’t know what else they want.”

“Katherine came back to profess her undying love for you.” Damon corrected Stefan. “So I’m going to let you deal with her.”

“What about Astrid?” Stefan added, pointing directly at Damon. “She has every right to be mad at Damon and it’s clear she’s coming after you. Are you gonna deal with her?”

“Cheers, brother.” Damon said, ignoring Stefan’s concerns. Stefan sighed and glared at his brother’s back, wondering how long Damon had before he pushed someone too far.

* * *

“Alright, rule number one of being a vampire.” Astrid began, it was coming near the very early hours of the morning and the sun was starting to shine. “Stay out of the sun.”

“I can’t stay inside all day, I have committees to run, school, social events!” Caroline said dramatically. Astrid laughed and waved her off.

“That’s where these come in.” Astrid said, waving her hand around to show a silver bracelet covered in blue gems, diamonds, and pretty designs. Caroline knew it was old and probably worth a fortune. “Spelled lapis lazuli stones allow us to walk in the sunlight.”

“Spelled?” Caroline asked wearily. 

“Right,” Astrid frowned, remembering how all of Caroline’s friends kept her in the dark about the supernatural. “You already know about vampires, but there are other creatures in the world.”

“Like what?” Caroline asked, intrigued.

“Werewolves, witches.” Astrid responded. “Then they’re creatures like me.”

“What do you mean?” Caroline prodded again.

“A story for another time, darling.” Astrid said and instead reached into her bag to pull out a small box. She pulled open the lid to reveal a couple rings, a mix of silver and gold bands, all embedded with the same blue stones, all completely stunning.

“What are those for?” Caroline asked, eyeing one of the rings with a silver band, large blue stone, and diamonds littering around it.

“For you to pick from, it’s going to be your daylight ring.” Astrid explained. “I’m going to spell it so you can walk in the sun.”

Caroline eventually did end up picking the one she was looking at and Astrid cast the spell, before slipping it on Caroline’s finger

“Great, this means I can leave the hospital!” Caroline said excitedly. “I won’t miss the carnival and Elena won’t turn it into a complete disaster.”

“Alright, Carolina, we need to talk.” Astrid announced, looking her in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

“I just met you.” Caroline whispered, taking in Astrid’s serious face. “But I do, I don’t know how or why, but I do.”

Astrid sighed and flipped her dark hair, she needed to tell Caroline about Stefan and Damon. About doppelgangers and witches. She watched Caroline’s face contort into anger and sadness as she realized what her friends really saw her as. What they were keeping from her. Caroline realized that her friends never really trusted her and she felt her heart turn cold. But with the realizations, the memories of what Damon had done to her were coming back. 

“What do I do?” Caroline whispered, silent tears streaming down her face. “My friends, if I could even call them that, don’t trust me, and Damon…”

Astrid wiped the tears off her cheeks and tilted her chin up. “Fear not, my dear Carolina. I have great things in mind for you.”

* * *

Damon walked down an empty hallway of Mystic Falls High School, waiting smugly for his experiment to take place when he heard a clicking noise from behind him. He turned around and saw a new and improved version of Caroline Forbes standing before him. “Oh, hey, blondie. They let you out?”

“I remember.” Caroline commented, placing her hands on her hips and getting irritated when Damon turned his back on her. “How you manipulated me, you pushed me around, abused me. Erased my memories.” She walked closer and closer with every word. “Fed on me.”

Damon stopped and turned around. “You’re crazy.”

“Well, the memories have been coming back.” Caroline snapped, narrowing her eyes and forcing Damon to face her. “In pieces.”

“Astrid turned you?” Damong guessed. He knew this was going to bite him in the ass, but it was this or he’d died.

Caroline walked closer and felt a swell of satisfaction when Damon looked nervous. “I have a message from Katherine and Astrid. Game on.” Damon was about to respond when Caroline pushed him hard and he went flying to the ground roughly. “You better start running.”

* * *

“What do you mean, you traded Caroline!” Elena yelled. Stefan and Damon had pulled her aside into an empty classroom as soon as Caroline disappeared and they had explained the deal they made with Astrid.

“I was going to die, Elena. It was me or Barbie. I chose me.” Damon snapped, trying to defend himself, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty when he looked at Elena’s expression.

“I’m sorry, she forced my hand.” Stefan said softly, but Elena glared at him harder, crossing her arms.

“I expect this from Damon, but really Stefan?” Elena said in a hurt tone. “We could’ve had Bonnie find another way. Everything would’ve been fine, but now Caroline’s a vampire.”

“Look.” Damon snapped. “We did what we had too. But with Blondie on the loose now, we need to find her and kill her.”

“Killing her is not an option!” Elena yelled. 

“Damon, absolutely not.” Stefan added. “We’ll find her and show her how dangerous Astrid and Katherine are.”

“You really think she’s gonna come back after Astrid blabs about the secrets we’ve kept.” Damon pointed out and stared the pair down. “She’s going to hate all of you as much as she hates me.”

“That’s not true.” Elena said wearily. “She has to come back.”

“We already made the deal, Elena.” Damon reminded her. “Astrid made it clear that if we went after Caroline, she’d let me die.”

“Then we’ll have Bonnie find a spell to fix this.” Elena retorted.

“Either Caroline dies, or I do.” Damon said. “Does anyone need a little reminder of Vicky Donavan? Caroline of all people isn’t going to make it as a vampire.”

Stefan walked forward and poked Damon in the chest. “We aren’t killing her.”

* * *

“Caroline?” Astrid asked softly upon seeing the girl crying. “What happened, Carolina?”

“My, my boyfriend…” Caroline choked out. Astrid didn’t need to hear anything else. She simply pulled Caroline into a hug and rubbed her back

“I think it’s time to go home.” Astrid murmured and grabbed the blonde’s hand. Caroline began to let Astrid lead her away from the bright shiny carnival lights when the strong scent of blood flooded her system.

“I smell blood.” Caroline said and turned her head in the direction of the scent.

“Caroline, stop. You’re high on emotions right now, if you try to feed on someone. I don’t think you’ll be able to stop.” Astrid warned. Caroline wasn’t really paying attention to her because the scent was giving her a head rush and she sped towards the poor unsuspecting boy with a bloody nose.

Before Astrid could react, Caroline had torn into the boy's neck and blood was pouring from his neck. Astrid sped over and ripped Caroline off the poor kid and pushed her back roughly.

“Stop it!” Astrid snapped. “Caroline.”

“What, what did I do?” Caroline asked horrified, reaching up to touch the blood staining her chin.

“It’s okay.” Astrid said softly. “This happens to everyone. Carolina, he’s fine.”

Caroline took a look at the boy she was feeding on and it was true, he was fine, completely dizzy from blood loss, but overall breathing and not dead.

“What’s wrong with me?” Caroline whispered softly. Astrid slowly walked forward and grabbed her hands.

“Carolina, it’s okay.” Astrid said sweetly. I’m going to heal him, and then we’re going home, okay?” Caroline nodded numbly and moved off to the side.

Astrid was in the process of feeding her blood to the nearly unconscious boy when three pairs of footsteps echoed near them. Astrid looked up to see Damon, Stefan, and Elena walking towards her. 

“What happened?” Elena demanded. “Caroline?”

“Elena?” Caroline said, still high from her wreck of emotions, it wasn’t long before all her sadness and guilt was flooded by anger. “You lied to me.”

“Caroline…” Elena started. “We did it to keep you safe.”

“You’ve done enough.” Astrid cut in and stood next to Caroline. “We have things to do and people to see. We’ll be going now.”

“Caroline, don’t go with her.” Elena pleaded. “She’s a bad person and she’s dangerous!”

“At least she’s not a liar.” Caroline snapped angrily.

“Astrid, please.” Stefan interjected. “Let Caroline go.”

“She’s not a hostage.” Astrid laughed. “She’s free to go by her own will.”

Damon took the advantage of Stefan and Astrid distracting each other and threw the stake he’d grabbed earlier towards Caroline's heart, it was so close to making its target and Caroline didn’t even have time to move out of the way. 

Before the stake could even pierce her skin, Astrid reached an arm out and stopped it. She rounded on Damon and threw the stake so fast, it landed squared in his stomach. “I already warned you, Damon. Caroline is off limits. You come after her again and I will never lift that spell.”

* * *

Caroline walked into her new room in the mansion Katherine and Astrid shared, the room had been completely made to her standards. A beautiful canopy bed was in the middle with flowy white curtains. All vintage white furniture was scattered across the room in the form of a desk, side tables, and a vanity. 

A door on the left led to a large walk-in closet, already filled with expensive clothing and shoes, while a door to the right led to a large marble white bathroom. There was even a small sitting area towards the other end of the room, complete with a pale yellow seating set and a white coffee table.

Caroline took a long glance at the new room and sighed harshly. She had a hard night and it was oddly comforting coming back here instead of her old house where her “friends” could’ve tracked her down.

After the catastrophic events from that night and Astrid had taken her home, Caroline kept hesitating to walk into her house. Eventually after five minutes of unmoving silence, Astrid asked Caroline to come live with her and Katherine. The blond had laughed like it was a joke before Astrid actually told her they had a room made up just in case. Caroline thought about it for a moment and agreed. With so many changes in her life, she felt like Astrid was going to stay constant and be there when Caroline needed her. It also made her think about whether Bonnie and Elena would’ve done the same for her, which Caroline honestly didn’t know.

Astrid had gone back to the hospital and compelled the doctor to change Caroline records and got the doctor to recommend Caroline live in a care home for physical therapy as well as emotional therapy after the accident. After working out the finer details and having the doctor fake a phone call to Elizabeth Forbes, Caroline moved right into the mansion.

“Do you like it?” Astrid asked from Caroline’s doorway, knocking lightly on the frame.

“It’s perfect.” Caroline said genuinely. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Sure, Carolina.” Astrid said sweetly. “Katherine’s home, I want you to come meet her.”

“Katherine, Elena’s doppelganger?” Caroline clarified. Astrid nodded and they descended the spiral staircase together.

“Katherine!” Astrid called down.

“Kitchen!” She called back. The pair walked through a series of hallways before spotting Katherine sitting on the counter, drinking blood from a glass and examining something on her phone.

“Katherine, this is Caroline.” Astrid said and hopped up on the kitchen island, grabbing an apple for herself to munch on.

“Wow.” Caroline whispered, looking at Katherine's face. She was a carbon copy of Elena. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to stare.”

“I’ve heard you’re our newest house guest.” Katherine said, smirking. “I’ve also heard you threw Damon on his ass.”

“I did.” Caroline laughed. “The most satisfying moment of my life.”

Katherine hummed and nodded, sipping on her blood. Astrid laughed and turned towards Caroling, tossing her a blood bag. “She likes you.”

“We’re not there yet.” Katherine corrected. “But I don’t hate you, yet.”

The three girls migrated and moved to sit at the dining table, blood and alcohol flowing freely. At some point, the conversation made its way back to 1864, back when Katherine and Astrid met the Salvatore brothers.

“Alright.” Caroline hiccupped. “I have a question.”

“What is it?” Katherine asked. Taking another shot.”

“Why do you hate Damon, what did he do to you?” Caroline asked Astrid, turning her head to the side and pulling her legs close to her chest.

Katherine shook her head and looked sad. “I don’t know if we should get into that one.”

“Another story for another time, Carolina.” Astrid agreed. “I’ll tell you one day, but not this one.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I had someone asked about an actress for Astrid and my top personal choice at the moment is Lily Collins. Leave a review about which actress you guys would like her to be and I'll make a final decision in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for reading and all the support!


	9. Chapter 9

"Are you going to tell Caroline the truth?" Katherine asked Astrid cryptically. The two girls were sitting in the living room around five am, being so old, neither vampire required much sleep anymore.

"I don't know. I haven't decided." Astrid responded and narrowed her eyes at Katherine. She briefly glanced up the stairs at the hallway that lead to Caroline's room but looked away just as quickly.

"Drop the look, Baby Mikaelson. You're too little to look threatening." Katherine taunted.

"Watch it." Astrid snapped. "I can do a lot more damage to you than you could do to me."

Katherine rolled her eyes at Astrid's irritated behavior and crossed her legs delicately. "Tell her, at some point she's going to question why you picked her out of this godforsaken town and turned her into a vampire."

"I will." Astrid decided after a long moment. "But not today."

"Well, on another note." Katherine said in her purr-like voice. "When are we calling your egomaniac brother here?"

"When Damon gets me that moonstone." Astrid responded. "What are your plans with the Salvatore brothers?"

"You know me, mind games always." Katherine responded. Astrid laughed and leaned her head back on the chair, pulling her legs up to her chest.

"What are your plans for _my_ brother." Astrid whispered. Katherine flinched and looked anywhere but Astrid.

"Which one?" Katherine said, ignoring Astrid's indignant stare.

"Don't be a hypocrite, Katherine." Astrid responded. "Tell him."

* * *

Caroline and Astrid were sitting in one of the many rooms of the mansion, both sat cross legged in the middle of the floor surrounded by various books.

"I don't understand what we're doing here." Caroline said, tugging on the new leather jacket that was hanging on the back of her chair this morning.

"Supernatural history lesson." Astrid retorted. "If you're going to be a vampire, you should understand how vampirism works, as well as any other supernatural creature."

"Like what?" Caroline asked.

"Here." Astrid said simply and handed her a book off a shelf, which looked more like a journal, all hand written in a neat script. "Read this, I have errands to run today."

"You're just leaving me here?" Caroline asked. She cocked a hip and placed her hands on it, looking indifferent.

"Katherine's home." Astrid responded. "You're not confined to the house, but I suggest you stay here since you're a new vampire and haven't learned to control your bloodlust."

"Got it, read and don't kill anyone." Caroline mocked saluted. Astrid winked at her and left the room.

She needed Caroline to catch up on all things supernatural and fast, so the easiest way was to let her read through the journals Astrid kept over the years of all the things she encountered.

With Caroline occupied, her and Katherine needed to start setting their plans in motion. She was going to find Mason Lockwood, while Astrid was on her way to pick up a friend, then talk to Stefan Salvatore.

Astrid hopped in her car and cruised through the small town. It was hard not to fantasize about what life would've been like if she was normal after passing by all the cookie cutter houses. What it'd been like to grow up with her siblings, without all the death. She spotted a mom walking with her four kids, three little boys, two with dark hair, the other blond and one blond little girl. It was like looking at a younger version of Elijah, Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah. It tugged on Astrid's heart remembering all the collective memories she had made over the years, and it was one of the rare moments she regretted walking away from them. But if everything went to plan, they'd be back together soon.

Astrid drove herself to the airport and onto a private landing strip where her long awaited guest was. Astrid got out of her car, slapping dark sunglasses onto her face and making sure the clicking of her red bottom heels echoed.

"Long time no see, Addy."

* * *

Bonnie, Elena, Stefan, and Damon were all sitting in the Salvatore's living room trying to come up with a plan to fix the current predicament they found themselves stuck in.

"You heard her." Damon snapped, flexing his fingers where the dark spot was starting to spread again. "If we try to get Blondie back, she'll kill us."

"We can't just leave Caroline with them!" Elena argued. "How do we know they won't kill her?"

"They won't." Stefan reassured her. "Or at least Astrid won't."

"Do we know what they wanted her for?" Bonnie piped up. Looking between Damon, Stefan, and Elena, mostly glaring at Damon.

"Other than just to be a bitch?" Damon asked snarkily. Stefan glared harshly at his brother.

"Stop it." Stefan snapped, sending an indifferent look towards Damon. "We need to get her back and find a way to lift that spell."

"That's all on you, Witchy." Damon said and looked pointedly at Bonnie who sarcastically smiled at him.

"Maybe I shouldn't lift the spell and let your sorry ass rot." Bonnie snipped, slamming the grimoire in her lap shut. Elena placed a hand on her arm and squeezed lightly.

"Bonnie, please." Elena asked. Bonnie yanked her arm back and looked horrified.

"They traded Caroline, Elena." Bonnie pointed out. "Why should we help them?"

"Because!" Damon exclaimed and got closer to Bonnie. "She wasn't made to be a vampire. You all think she's already a shallow, neurotic control freak. Imagine that multiplied by a million."

"Damon." Stefan warned, pushing him away from Bonnie and Elena. Stefan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, we can't sit around here all day doing nothing. Bonnie please try to find a way to lift the spell. I'm going to see Astrid and Katherine."

"What about me?" Elena asked, looking wearily between the three others in the room.

Stefan sighed and rubbed her temple, showing off his infamous brooding expression. "I think Damon needs to be as far away from Astrid and Katherine as possible."

"What does that mean? We can ship him off on a plane?" Bonnie asked with a little too much excitement.

"It means," Damon interjected and smiled deviously at Elena, "that we are taking a little road trip."

* * *

Caroline slammed the diary shut and ran a hand through her thick blond curls. She had been reading for at least three hours, gone through four journals, and learned that the world was a lot scarier than she ever thought possible. Caroline hadn't realized how much her life had changed in the past two days and having a moment to herself was forcing her to start thinking.

Two days ago she was the head of nearly every Mystic Falls committee, she had the perfect boyfriend, and her whole life was planned to the detail. Now she was a vampire, eternally young, beautiful. She flipped her whole life upside down and put her trust in someone she just met, but despite that she still couldn't seem to feel like she made the wrong choice.

What also seemed to come to mind was how she felt about her friends, if she could even call them that anymore. They spent almost a year lying to her, not only about the supernatural but also how they really felt about her. Becoming a vampire had put things into perspective for Caroline about who she was, she knew she was insecure and shallow before, but after she turned, it was like all that melted away. Astrid's short speech about being strong, ageless, and fearless rang out in Caroline's head, knowing that's exactly who she was now.

She was so angry with Bonnie and Elena, thinking back on the way they used to treat her. They whispered behind Caroline's back about how self absorbed they thought she was. They always counted her out and didn't value her opinion. On some level Caroline didn't think she'd ever trust them the same again. Then there was the Damon of it all. He showed her an ounce of attention and then used her for his own personal gain, abused her.

It was in that moment that Caroline had completely accepted her new life with Astrid, and with Katherine by extension. It made her feel free and liberated.

Caroline was snapped out of her thoughts when the door slammed open and an impeccably dressed Katherine stood in the doorway. "Get up, Barbie. Field trip."

* * *

"Stefan Salvatore." Astrid said smugly and walked to stand next to him. She found him at a high school party, looking among the sea of drunk teenagers, a serious expression plastered to his face.

"Astrid." Stefan answered, trying not to look worried. "I've been looking for you."

"Little old me?" Astrid mocked and placed a perfectly manicured hand to her chest. "What could I possibly have done to bring out brooding Stefan?"

"Cut the crap." Stefan snapped. "Where's Caroline? Why are you and Katherine back in town?"

Astrid's head snapped her head to look at him and narrowed her eyes. "We made a deal, stop asking about Caroline. As for the second part, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

"What are you trying to get at?" Stefan asked. "What could possibly have made you come to a high school party?"

"I just came to warn you." Astrid answered in her sweet tone. "The clock's ticking away on Damon and I'll be coming to collect my debt soon."

Stefan watched her walk away, her heels dug harshly into the floor and her aura was dark. He remembered how she used to be in 1864. She was lighter, softer, and sweeter. She kept to the shadows and casted spells for entertainment, he remembered how she would run through the fields on the plantation and let her dress flow freely behind her. There were even glimpses in time when he admired the sisterly bond her and Katherine shared.

He supposed it was all a façade now, watching the way she acted now was still her, just colder. She even warned him that she had always been this way, but Stefan also couldn't help but think she was this way because of what Damon had done.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Caroline complained. Katherine had told her to get in the car and they just started driving without any context.

"Will you calm down." Katherine snapped.

"Not until you tell me where we're going." Caroline said defiantly.

"Astrid went to pick up an old friend of ours earlier, we're gonna go meet her." Katherine said shortly and slapped on a pair of dark sunglasses. A clear sign that she wanted Caroline to stop talking, so the blond turned her head and looked out the window instead.

They passed rows and rows of houses. Caroline stared at them and couldn't help but feel indifferent about them now. Before they were always just the neighboring house she grew up near, almost like a representation of what her future would look like. But now, she was eternally young and beautiful, she now had the chance to live a million different lifetimes.

After a short drive they pulled up to the edge of town, there sat a large victorian style mansion, not completely dissimilar to the one Katherine, Caroline, and Astrid lived in. Astrid's familiar expensive car already in the driveway.

"So," Caroline drew out. "Does this mysterious friend have a name?"

"Vivian Claire." Katherine answered shortly. "She's another witch."

"Do you ever talk in full sentences?" Caroline quipped. Katherine turned around and glared at her, at that moment it dawned on Caroline that she probably shouldn't snap at the five hundred year old vampire.

Quietly, the unusual pair walked up the long porch and knocked on the door. A moment later it swung open and they came face to face with Astrid.

"Finally, you're here." Astrid said exasperatedly and moved aside to reveal a beautiful girl who looked no older than sixteen, her long strawberry blond hair flowing down in waves behind her. "Invite them in, please?"

She let a soft smile and threw her hand dramatically in a welcome motion. "Come on in." Caroline noted that she had a slight southern accent.

The four girls moved further into the house and settled in the victorian styled living room.

"Well, well, pick up another stray?" Vivian quipped, looking at Caroline curiously.

"She's not a stray." Astrid corrected. "Vivian, this is Caroline Forbes."

"Forbes?" Vivian questioned. She shared a look with Astrid and Katherine, who both shook their heads. Caroline knew better than to question it, she may have a newfound friendship with them, but they were a lot older than she was and held a lot more secrets.

"I've got brothers to attend to, so let's speed this meeting up quickly, hmm?" Katherine said, pouring them all glasses of wine and turning the stereo on.

"What exactly are we having a meeting for?" Caroline asked. "No offense, but why did we move to a whole new mansion to have this conversation?"

"Well, this is technically my mansion." Vivian corrected, motioning towards a large portrait of herself on the wall in a dress from the nineteen hundreds, which made Caroline question how old Vivian actually was. "Also, it's a backup house."

"We need a back up house?" Caroline laughed, the idea sounded ridiculous to her.

Katherine looked at her with a serious expression. " A back up house is always necessary when you're going to war."

"War?" Caroline asked, a little shock and disbelief seeping into her voice.

"That's what we're here to talk about." Astrid answered, she reached out and rubbed the top of Caroline's hand. "We need to talk about strategies."

"Well, first things first, I think we need to let our little Care Bear here in on all the dirty little secrets." Katherine interjected. "Can't have her blind sided and screwing up the plans."

"Wow, Katherine, I think that's the most consideration you've ever had for me." Caroline said in a sweet tone. Katherine simply smirked back at her.

"Settle in, Doll, it's gonna be a long one." Vivian warned with a light tone.

Astrid then turned towards Caroline and held onto both her hands. "I need you to answer me this first, Caroline. Do you trust me? Know that I wouldn't ever put you in harm?"

"Of course." Caroline agreed automatically. She was starting to get weary about what she was about to hear.

"This is not a story I share lightly." Astrid warned, her tone adopting a cold feeling. "When I gave you my journals to read, how far into the myth of the originals did you get?"

"Not very." Caroline said hesitantly. "Katherine came in and we left before I could really read into it. I got as far as knowing they are the originators of all vampires and it's a family of seven, but two died and weren't turned."

"Well that family lived a thousand years ago." Astrid said, a far away look in her eyes. Then she looked unnecessarily serious, "it was my family."

"Your family?" Caroline asked, confused. She didn't really question Katherine's or Astrid's age, but she wouldn't have guessed Astrid was a thousand years old. "You're an original?"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner." Katherine mocked in her usual biting tone.

Astrid sighed and nodded. "It's a complicated sort of family history though. It's started with my birth mother, Esther, who was married to a cruel man named Mikael. Together they had six children, Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik."

"That's only five?" Caroline said tentatively. "I thought she had seven kids?"

"Eight technically." Astrid said. "The eldest one died in the old world. While one of her sons was a result of an affair Esther had with a werewolf, a son she named Niklaus. She claimed he was Mikael's in order to protect him, but that didn't last as long as she'd hoped." Astrid explained and stood up to walk the length of the room as she talked, fingering trinkets placed randomly.

"Esther didn't have just one affair, though, didn't she?" Caroline asked.

"No she didn't." Astrid confirmed. "She also had an affair with a man that was the leader of a special coven called the Gemini's. Although most witches are born with their own powers, some of the Gemini were not, they had to siphon it away from other things."

"He was your father." Caroline didn't phrase it as a question, she didn't need to know the answer.

"Esther gave birth to me while Mikael was away and told him I died, but she'd sent me away to live somewhere else." Astrid explained. "She was already living in constant fear that Mikael would find out about my bastard brother and kill him, she didn't want him to find out about me or else we'd all for sure be dead."

"So how did you all become vampires?" Caroline asked.

"Esther wasn't just an ordinary woman, she is what people call the original witch, a title she gained as we are the original family." Astrid told Caroline. By this point Katherine and Vivian were just as entranced by the tale despite having heard it before. "On the other side of the village they lived in, it was home to werewolves. On one fateful night my youngest brother Henrik begged Niklaus to take him to see the wolves change. He died that night, they'd gotten too close and the wolves attacked Henrik."

"When Esther used the spell to turn her kids into vampires, she killed a girl and used her blood." Katherine stated, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder, "that girl looked exactly like me."

"I don't understand." Caroline said in a confused tone. "How could she look like you?"

"It was a sort of contingency." Vivian said. Caroline had also forgotten she was there. "Katherine is a doppelganger, that's also why she looks like your friend Elena. Their blood has special properties to it and that's why my mother used Katherine's blood to create vampires."

"Which brings us to now." Katherine smirked, pouring way too much bourbon into her glass. "Not only did Esther turn her kids into vampires, she also bound Klaus' werewolf side."

"Why would she do that?" Caroline asked, "why take away half of who he is?"

"It's not important right now." Astrid waved off. "What's important is that he wants to break the curse and I've figured out how to do it."

"How do you break his curse?" Caroline asked, she was starting to put the pieces together, but there were still too many gaps for her to get the whole picture.

"He needs to sacrifice a witch, a werewolf, and…" Katherine trailed off, pointing to herself. "The other copy of me."

"Elena?" Caroline questioned. "He needs to kill her? I may be mad at her but I don't want her to die. This isn't what I signed up for."

"She won't stay dead." Astrid corrected, waving off Caroline's concerns. "Nik thinks she needs to stay dead in order for his curse to break, but I know what he wants, what he truly craves. For that to happen, Elena can't be dead."

"Then how are you going to keep her from dying?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"Me, I can bring her back." Vivian cut in. "I was born and raised as an ancestral witch, and for us to maintain our power, we have a harvest ritual."

"I'm still confused about witch lore." Caroline said in a tired tone. "Harvest ritual?"

"They pick four girls from the coven and sacrifice them to the ancestors." Vivian said in a short tone, it sounded like it didn't even affect her. "I was one of them back in the 1500's." She shrugged. "They do this to appease our ancestors and keep the power flowing, everyone knows that in the ritual after we're sacrificed, we're supposed to be reborn."

"But something went wrong, didn't it?" Caroline asked, she tilted her head to the side and winced.

"One of the girls didn't want to be a part of the ritual, she wanted to die a human and live in a peaceful afterlife, because as ancestral witches, we never truly die. She ended up giving up her powers, it's completely rare and almost unheard of, but she placed her powers into an inanimate object." Vivian explained, then pulled out a necklace from around her neck, an old large opal gem on a gold chain. "She put it in here and gave it to me before the ritual. She hoped it was a loophole into giving up her magic and allow us to still be resurrected."

"What ended up happening then?" Caroline asked slowly.

"In the ritual the power flows from one girl to the next, meaning after you die your powers belong to the next girl. In the end, the three of us who kept our powers were still resurrected." Vivian said. "But we weren't the same as before. Not long after we came back, the coven was in a panic because they didn't know why only three of us came back, not only that but the other two girls died a day later."

"But you didn't." Caroline said. "Why?"

"I was the last one to be sacrificed and as a result I died with all of their magic in my system. Combine that with the botched ritual and I came back as a witch with only one power." Vivian answered in a dark tone. "I bring people back from the dead."

Caroline rubbed her temple from exhaustion. "So, from what it sounds like, you have all your pieces in place." Caroline pointed out. "What comes next then?"

"It means all the originals are coming out to play." Katherine smirked.


	10. Chapter 10

Kol Mikaelson stepped foot into the small town that had turned into a modern day horror picture show. Sure it looked different, but it still felt the same from a thousand years ago. Maybe it had something to do with the magic deeply rooted in the ground.

Kol knew his youngest sister better than anyone in the world. He traveled the world with her for centuries, catered to her every whim, even helped her become the stunning witch she was today. Which is why he knew that he was standing in front of her mansion on the outskirts of the pathetic town. From the modern to old looking decor, not to mention the strong protection wards covering the place he could feel at the start of the block. It was definitely his sister.

To his surprise he easily walked through the gates and to the door, letting himself in. What better to reunite with his kindred spirit than with a surprise? Except what he found wasn’t what he expected, it was a blond woman sitting in one of the living room chairs, no older than seventeen and he knew that she was a baby vampire. Although what shocked him the most was the old expensive daylight ring sitting on her finger, he’d stolen it himself back in the fifteen hundreds as a present for Astrid.

“Well, aren’t you a tasty little thing?” Kol said, leaning over her shoulder to peek at what looked to be a high school biology textbook.

Caroline jumped at the new voice and backed away from the chair. “Who are you? What’re you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Darling.” Kol said and took her previous spot in the chair. “I think I might be in the wrong house.” That didn’t stop him from pouring himself a glass of bourbon. “Although, this does look exactly like a place my sister would have furnished.”

“My name is Caroline, not Darling.” The sunshine blond quipped and narrowed her eyes. “Who exactly are you looking for, it’s a small town, I’m sure I could direct you in the right place.” Her words were polite, but her tone was annoyed.

“My sister.” Kol said shortly, eying Caroline’s sweet appearance. “She's a little thing, about five feet tall, brunette, psycho, loves to play with magic.”

Caroline’s face paled for a second. “You’re one of Astrid’s brothers’, aren’t you?”

“She told you about me, how nice.” Kol laughed heartily. “Just for the record, I’m her  _ favorite  _ brother.” Kol emphasized. “I assume this is her house, then?”

“Are you an original?” Caroline asked, ignoring his question, she set her textbook down on the table and crossed her arms. Kol was intrigued by the blond. Most people who encountered originals cowered at the very mention of the name, but she was standing her ground. Looking more annoyed than anything.

“Why yes, Angel, I am.” Kol answered, amused by her expression. “Now, my sister, where is she?”

“I’m not her keeper.” Caroline snipped. “It’s the twenty-first century, you can call her.”

“I have killed people for far less, I’d watch that feisty tongue of yours.” Kol responded. Although he really wasn’t angry with her at all, he actually enjoyed talking to her.

“Bite me.” Caroline smiled, it seemed like spending all her free time with Katherine and Astrid was starting to rub off on her. After becoming a vampire, it felt like she was a newborn trying to relearn how to stand on her own.

“Is that an invitation?” Kol smiled deviously. Just as he was about to get closer to Caroline, the door opened and he was slammed hard back against that wall. Instead of the usual feeling of anger, it was an even wider smile that graced his lips.

“Keep your hands off her, Kol.” Came Astrid’s voice. The heretic in question stepped in front of her brother and crossed her arms. She felt her breath catch as soon as she heard his voice from the inside of the mansion. She didn’t really believe it was him. After two hundred years, she wasn’t mad at him for the part he played in Castor’s death, but that didn’t mean she was over her revenge. She was a Mikaelson after all. This is what they did, destroy each other, break each other, Klaus even locked them away, but they were still family above all.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my baby sister.” Kol laughed, he studied her. She was exactly the same. Still stubborn, still powerful, still his baby sister. “Let me off the wall, Darling.”

“I think I should leave you there for a couple hundred years.” Astrid quipped, cocking her hip and pursing her lips. Despite this, a grin then spread across her face and she waved her hand, letting him fall harshly to the ground. He stood up and brushed himself off, and then looked at her expectantly.

“Hello, Astrid. Did you miss me?” He asked, shaking his head. Astrid rolled her eyes and as a reunion always called for, she jumped into his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and spun her around, enjoying her tinkling laugh.

* * *

“I don’t think Nik will be very happy to know you're toying with his doppelganger.” Kol said as he poured himself a drink.

“Who said I was messing with the doppelganger?” Astrid replied innocently. Kol sent her a look and she shrugged. “All fun and games. Besides, since when do you care what Nik likes and doesn’t like.” 

“I don’t.” Kol corrected, tugging on her dress like a child. “But I do care about what he’ll do to you.”

“What would he do?” Astrid mocked, moving her hands in a dramatic manner. “Dagger me? Oh, wait, he can’t.” She deadpanned and put her hands on her hips.

“You know as well as I that our brother will find some kind of punishment for you.” Kol reminded her as he leaned back on the couch, throwing one arm over the back and kicking his feet up on her very expensive coffee table.

“Relax.” Astrid said placatingly. “I’m not here to ruin his plans, believe it or not, but I’m here helping him put all his plans in place.” She told him and pushed his feet back to the floor. “Which reminds me, why are you here? I haven’t sent out a message to call you all home yet. I wasn’t planning that for at least another two weeks.”

“I ran into a friend of the witchy variety a month ago.” Kol said, grabbing onto her and pulling her down to sit next to him. “More like she was staying in my villa in California.”

“Vivian told you?” Astrid guessed, Kol simply winked at her. “Doesn’t matter anyway, I was going to contact you all soon.” Astrid shrugged, a grin still spread wide across her face. She couldn’t seem to shake it after seeing Kol again after two hundred year. “I see you met Caroline as well.”

“I like her, by the way.” Kol said and nodded towards the stairs. “Is she living here?”

“Mhm.” Astrid hummed. “She was living with an absentee mother and all of her friends are degenerates.”

“Which doesn’t explain why you’ve taken in a baby vampire, no matter how feisty and angelic she may be.” Kol said and winked at her sweetly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Astrid quipped. She kicked off her fifties style sling backs and brushed out her curls, which were now a light blonde shade just like Rebekah’s instead of the usual brunette. In light of trying to look older, more or less to avoid having people treat her like a child, she dyed the dark brunette to a lighter golden color and let it grow out. “She’s not really a part of what I’m doing for Nik.”

“Which begs the question,” Kol pondered. “Why are you helping Nik, especially after what he did, what he’s done to all of us.”

Astrid turned sharply and sighed. “Part of it is getting to gloat to his face for eternity that I was the one that broke his curse.” Astrid smirked, Kol smiles approvingly at his younger sister.

“And that other part?” Kol asked.

“The other part is giving Nik something that  _ he  _ thinks will make him happy.” Astrid sighed tiredly, and it times like these that made the weight of living a thousand years a lot heavier. “I hope that if he finally accomplishes what he craves, then maybe he’ll let the rest of us live the way we want and with whoever we want without having to look behind our shoulders.”

Kol was quiet for a moment, contemplating the meaning of what she was actually proposing. It seemed too optimistic, too easy. “My, my, Baby Sister. Too many years away has turned you soft.” He got up from his spot and slid a hand across her cheek in an unusually affectionate manner. “I hope it’s worth it, Astrid.”

Two hundred years and it was so easy to fall back into the same destructive routine. Kol remembered a time when things were simpler, when they would travel the world and learn about all the magic they could. There was a reason he liked to keep Astrid for himself, he’d never said it out loud, but for nearly a thousand years he wanted her distanced from the rest of their siblings. He couldn't deny her family, that was never an option, but Kol didn’t want Astrid to be sorely disappointed when she finally realizes, whether it be now or in another millennium, that Mikaelsons destroy Mikaelsons.

* * *

“Alright, Blondie.” Katherine said as soon as she and Astrid barged into Caroline’s room. “Get dressed, we have things to do today.”

“What’re we doing?” Caroline asked, closing her book and setting it down on her bedside table.

“Vampire 101.” Katherine stated simply. “You need to learn to control your bloodlust.”

“I don’t want to kill anyone.” Caroline said simply, crossing her arms in a defiant way.

“Don’t worry.” Astrid reassured her quickly. “You won’t be killing anyone, yet.” But none of the girls could deny the underlying tone, one that clearly stated otherwise. “You need to learn how to be a vampire, the proper way. I have a good feeling that if you were still with your degenerate friends, then they would’ve put you on a bunny diet and forced you to see your vampirism as a bad thing.”

Caroline didn’t even flinch when Astrid referred to her friends as degenerates and frankly she wasn’t wrong about the other part either. “Alright, so what does that entail?”

“Remember when I turned you?” Astrid asked. “I made sure you knew all the perks of being a vampire and I want you to revel in it.”

“Trust me, Care Bear.” Katherine began, using the nickname she’d appointed to the blond in a more affectionate tone than anyone thought Katherine was capable of. “There’s something empowering about the bloodlust.”

“That doesn’t sound appealing.” Caroline retorted. Her and Katherine had a very odd relationship. While her and Astrid were more or less like mentor and protege, her and Katherine were more like sisters with a knack for fighting. That is as close as you could get to a real term to define them given the circumstances. 

“Well, it’s this or we lock you up for eternity.” Astrid shrugged. “It’ll be fine, we’re both here to keep you from losing it and nothing bad will happen.”

“It’s Mystic Falls.” Caroline said. “Every time someone says, ‘nothing bad will happen’, everything that could go wrong does.”

“That’s because your friends suck as planning, the Bennett girl is a mediocre witch at best, and everything revolves around their precious doppelganger.” Katherine listed no hint of remorse in her tone. “Like they all don’t prioritize Elena’s happiness over everything.”

“But she never thought that way.” Caroline defendly weakly. At this point she was still in an in between state of where she stood with her friends. After all the initial anger faded away, she was still faced with the facts of their relationship. All lies and cruel intentions, but that didn’t change they were still the people she grew up with.

“That’s because she’s so used to the attention that it’s her permanent mindset and she doesn’t even know it.” Astrid pointed out. “Come on, Care. Time to go put on your big girl pants and become a vampire.”

“This seems morally wrong.” Caroline said, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hip. She was standing between Katherine and Astrid, looking over the town square. They figured now was a good time to teach Caroline how to fresh feed because all the Mystic Falls gang were in school. Somewhere Caroline hadn’t been in a week. At first it was just until she got her bearings in order, but now she wasn’t going because of the backlash she would get. Not only that, but she was upset with them too. Maybe they’d even kidnap her and lock her up.

“It’s not morally wrong.” Katherine corrected her. “You’re a vampire now,” she said, shrugging nonchalantly. “It’s like going straight passed the serial killer stage and jumping straight into being a vampire.”

“Tell me how that doesn’t prove my point.” Caroline said, shooting Katherine a glare.

“Look.” Astrid interrupted. “You’re going to find an easy target, compel, eat, erase. Simple as that.” Astrid said, brushing her hands together. She turned and grabbed the blond by her arms and forced her to look at her. “You can do this, Caroline.”

“Alright.” Caroline murmured. “I can do this.”

From then on teaching Caroline the basics of being a vampire was pretty easy. She seemed to pick up on all the perks of vampirism naturally and that made it a lot easier on both Astrid and Katherine. It wasn’t long before all three girls were on their way back to the mansion, because for a baby vampire, Caroline had an unnatural amount of control.

Caroline sat in the back of Astrid’s car and listened to Katherine and Astrid bicker, almost like sisters, not quite there but close enough to fool anyone. Living with them had opened Caroline’s eyes to a new perspective, especially the one to how she’d been previously treated. In the beginning, every action was clouded by confusion and impulse, but now she was beginning to feel nothing but content for her new life.

* * *

Kol knocked on the door of her sister's room, taking note that the top floor had just enough rooms for each of their siblings. He didn’t ask and she didn’t say anything about it. “Can I come in?”

“When have you ever asked?” Astrid shrugged as she hopped into her bed. Kol nodded and followed behind her, slipping under her thick blankets and poking her out of habit. No matter how long he’d been away, his brotherly affections never seem to waver.

“Are you really going to call them all home?” Kol asked, settling onto her mass of pillows, leaving her none. She tried to grab one from underneath him and he simply winked at her.

“Why would I not?” She asked, finally snapping her fingers and forcing Kol’s body to jerk and release his grip on her pillow.

“Rebekah’s furious with you.” Kol said nonchalantly. Astrid knew it was a possibility. In the thousand years they’d been alive, her and Rebekah had never been on bad terms. Unlike most sisters, they got along splendidly, mostly because they spent centuries apart, but also because they shared the same frustrating brothers.

“I figured she would be.” Astrid said and chewed on the inside of her cheeks. “What about Nik? Elijah?”

“Elijah was mad that you left without a word.” Kol said. “He was proud that you left at all though, he stopped Nik from going after you.”

“He was going to come after me?” Astrid whispered. She never thought Klaus would care that she would leave, after all he daggered their siblings for centuries because they annoyed him. She figured he was used to her and Kol not being around.

“Of course he was.” Kol said and rolled his eyes. “Maybe to give you a lecture about love being a weakness, but you’re still his baby sister too.”

“And you?” Astrid murmured.

Kol pulled the smaller girl into his arms and stroked her hair, a habit he acquired when Astrid would get too worked up in her magic and couldn’t keep it under control. “I was mad you didn’t ask me to come, but you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about it, I could never stray too far from my prodigal sister. Hypocrisy and grudges are a long standing Mikaelson trait, which we all possess.” He said and patted her nose in an annoying manner. “Besides, it’s mostly Bekah you have to worry about.”

“Do you think she hates me?” Astrid asked.

“No, I think she’s reflecting her anger at you.” Kol said. “I think she’s more upset that Nik had done the same thing to her a thousand times over and she’s never had the courage to retaliate, which must I say, was brilliant.”

“Well, I’m sure he would’ve daggered me if he could.” Astrid shrugged.

“That’s how you know it was spectacular!” Kol exclaimed. “Although, he might not kill you, but that won’t stop him from going after the lovely little doppelganger he’s had a personal grudge against for five hundred years.”

“You saw her?” Astrid grimaced. She had Katherine move in with Vivian the second she saw Kol standing in her living room.

“How could I not?” He scoffed. “Traces of her are everywhere. If you plan to have the family come home and live together in some kind of warped version of a happy picture, then she’s gonna have to go.”

“She won’t.” Astrid said. “I’m keeping her around for Elijah.”

“You think that’ll work?” Kol asked. 

“I hope it will.” Astrid whispered.

* * *

“I feel like strategy meetings are things you only see in movies.” Caroline said as she moved to sit down in what Kol promptly declared the ‘war room’. The blond tucked her legs underneath her and handed off a thing of chocolate to Katherine, keeping a mug of blood for herself. 

“I assure you, Angel, that over the years, we’ve had strategy meetings many times over the centuries for various reasons.” Kol said and patted her knee. 

Astrid moved to the center and rolled out a white board, taking our four pens and handing one to each person. “Focus, people.” She demanded and wrote ‘Nik’s curse’ across the top. “So far we know that in order to break Nik’s curse, he needs to kill a vampire, a werewolf, and the doppelganger, which Vivian will be bringing back to life.”

“Why are we bringing her back to life?” Kol asked. “Why not just let her die?”

“I don’t know.” Astrid responded shortly. “Well, I have an idea.”

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Katherine asked, motioning her hand around to everyone.

“Not yet.” Astrid hissed, a tone she preferred to use on Katherine alone. “She might need to live, she might not.”

“Look, Elena and I might be on rocky terms, but I don’t condone using her as a sacrifice.” Caroline cut in.

“She was literally born to be one.” Katherine interjected and looked Caroline in the eye. “I was, she’s not any different.”

“Cause that’s so reassuring.” Caroline muttered. Katherine shrugged unapologetically at her.

“Are you going to be a problem?” Kol asked her bluntly, then he turned to his sister. “She’s got a feisty attitude and a pretty face, but I don’t think her alliances are in order.”

“Hey!” Caroline snapped. 

“Leave it alone, Kol.” Astrid said tiredly. Maybe she was in a little over her head at the moment, trying to play the concerned sibling and attempting to be a semi good person. “Everyone just, leave, go do something else.”

“I thought we were having a war strategy meeting?” Vivian quipped, just to grate on Astrid’s nerves more.

“Out.” Astrid snapped at all of them.

“Calm down, Baby Sister, you and Bek’s both inherited that nasty temper.” Kol said and pursed his lips. 

“Out, Kol.” Astrid snapped, rubbing at her temples. “I’ll throw you out myself if I have too.”

Kol didn’t seem to care for her threats and made himself more comfortable on the couch he was sitting in. “What’s got you all worked up? Finally realizing the extent of your plans?”

“What’s your point?” Astrid snapped. 

“My point is that you are in over your head!” Kol screamed at her and grabbed her shoulders. “I love you, Baby Sister, but for hundreds of years you have had the tendency to look at life through rose colored glasses.”

“I’m not doing this with you, Kol.” Astrid scoffed, letting out a dry laugh and turning around to lean over a desk.

“It’s now or later, when everything will inevitably blow up in your face.” Kol said, crossing his arms. “Do you really think that everything is going to fall in place? That all of our siblings will be happy to come home? It’s not a fairytale, Darling, it’s an eternity of Mikaelson mistakes on a repeat!”

“Is it a crime that I want our family to be happy?” Astrid yelled back. “That I want Nik to find some kind of peace so he’ll leave the rest of us alone? That I want Elijah to find happiness with anyone and stop chasing Nik’s redemption, that I want Rebekah to find love without fear that Nik will inevitably be the one that breaks her heart, and that I want you to find another personality than sociopathic murder?”

Kol was quiet for a moment, he opened his mouth to say something, but grasped his forehead and sighed. “It’s not a crime, but it’s not realistic.”

“I’m trying, Kol.” Astrid said and nearly begged, her heart feeling heavy in her chest. “A thousand years is a long time to live in misery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! So I just wanted to put a quick note in here that I will be putting this story under major construction. I want to rewrite the first couple of chapters in third person, that way the story flows better and I can explore the other characters, and that way Vivian doesn't just appear out of nowhere like she did in that last chapter. I will also still be updating this story at the same time because I still have ideas and the next couple of chapters planned out.


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